THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

RIVERSIDE 


GIFT  OF 

Harrison  Wright 


NORTHCLIFFE 


Viscount  Northcliffe 

From  a  Painting  by  Tablo 


NORTHCLIFFE 

BRITAIN'S     MAN 
OF  POWER 


By  WILLIAM  E.  CARSON 

Former  American  Correspondent 
of  the   Northclifre    Newspapers 


NEW     YORK 

DODGE    PUBLISHING    CO. 
33d  St.  -  EIGHTH  AVENUE  -  34th  St. 


A/G7C37 


Copyright,  1918.  by  Dodge  Publishing  Company 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

FOREWORD 

I     WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE  . 
II     GENIUS  IN   TRAINING 

III  SUCCESS  AT  TWENTY-FOUR 

IV  DEALING  IN  MILLIONS 

V     A  WONDERFUL  NEWSPAPER 
VI     WOMEN  AND  PICTURES     . 
VII     "THE  THUNDERER" 

VIII       NORTHCLIFFE   AT   WORK    . 

IX  SOCIAL  GLIMPSES 

X  AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES  . 

XI  AT  THE  FRONT  . 

XII  THE  BRITISH  WAR  MISSION 

XIII  A  MESSAGE  TO  AMERICA  . 

XIV  WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PAWS 


Viscount  Northcliffe Title 

Alfred  Harmsworth  (1891)  ....  72 
Front  Page  of  the  First  Harmsworth  Paper  *• 

(reduced) 90 

Mrs.  Alfred  Harmsworth  (1897)  .        .        .       94s 
Elmwood  (1897)      .        ...        .        .106 

Fleetway  House       .        ....        .     130 

Alfred  Harmsworth  (1897)   .        .        .        .154. 

Lord  Rothermere 192 

The  Times  Office*  .        .        .        .        .        .226 

Lady  Northcliffe  *  .        .        .        .        .        .260 

Sutton  Place    .......     268 

The  Hall,  Sutton  Place 282 

An  Exciting  Moment 292 

A  Snapshot  (1901)  .  .  .  .  .302 
Fishing  for  Tarpon  .  .  .  .  .  320 
In  Paris  (1917)  .  .  .  .  .  .362 


*  These  illustrations  are  used  through  the  cour- 
tesy of  Everybody's  Magazine. 


FOREWORD 

AN  ancient  saying,  "  The  hand  that  wields 
the  pen  holds  the  scepter  of  government," 
has  been  strikingly  illustrated  in  the  career 
of  Lord  Northcliffe.  Essentially  a  product 
of  this  age,  he  represents  that  vast  develop- 
ment of  modern  times  which  controls  gov- 
ernments and  sways  nations, — the  power  of 
the  press. 

A  genius  in  business-building,  world- 
famous  as  a  journalist  and  newspaper 
owner,  Lord  Northcliffe  has  become  the 
most  forceful  and  dominating  figure  in 
British  public  life.  He  was,  above  all  else, 
the  first  man  to  arouse  the  English  people 
to  the  importance  of  strenuous  and  efficient 
methods  in  conducting  war.  Defying  a  tem- 
pest of  execration,  he  has  exposed  abuses, 
smashed  cabinets,  unmade  and  made  prime 
ministers,  dethroned  popular  idols,  and  re- 
lentlessly pursued  and  attacked  the  national 
tolerance  of  muddling — at  once  the  Eng- 
lishman's habit  and,  strangely  enough,  his 
11 


12  FOREWORD 

boast.  In  short,  anything  that  threatened 
or  interfered  with  an  efficient  prosecution  of 
the  war  has  been  a  target  for  Lord  North- 
cliff  e's  deadly  journalistic  lance.  Through 
his  great  newspapers,  especially  The  Times 
and  the  Daily  Mail,  he  has  kept  Britain 
alert  to  all  that  menaces  the  nation's  safety 
and  prestige. 

When  the  real  story  of  the  war  is  written, 
historians  will  probably  call  it  a  war  of 
highly  organized  armies,  machine  guns,  and 
artillery;  but  the  men  who  have  had  to  do 
with  the  business  of  it  will  always  know 
that  the  leaders  of  the  people  who  main- 
tained efficiency  behind  the  armies  filled  a 
role  as  important  as  that  of  the  ablest  gen- 
erals. For  a  leader  to  arouse  public  opin- 
ion, and  even  oppose  it,  for  the  country's 
good,  has  often  needed  a  higher  degree  of 
courage  than  to  lead  a  regiment  where 
shells  were  falling.  Such  has  been  the  mis- 
sion of  Lord  Northcliffe,  who,  by  his  fear- 
less efforts  in  promoting  national  efficiency, 
has  revolutionized  the  whole  system  of  gov- 
ernment in  Great  Britain,  with  far-reaching 
effect  on  the  destinies  of  the  British  Em- 
pire. Through  the  power  of  his  press  he 


FOREWORD  13 

convinced  the  nation  that  it  was  necessary 
to  discard  old  ideas  and  to  adopt  a  new 
system  in  which  the  business  man  would 
take  the  place  of  the  politician.  The  fact 
that  such  a  system  was  born  amidst  the 
musty  traditions  of  British  statesmanship 
makes  it  seem  almost  miraculous. 

In  this  eventful  revolution  of  war  time 
Lord  Northcliffe  has  taken  the  foremost 
part.  No  other  man  has  had  so  much  to  do 
with  the  commercialization  of  government 
and  in  bringing  about  a  general  recognition 
of  the  theory  that  good  government  is 
simply  good  business.  Even  while  the  war 
is  raging  he  has  foreseen  that  a  special 
preparation  is  needed  for  the  colossal  ad- 
justments of  peace.  He  has  also  warned 
the  world  that  unprecedented  social  changes 
are  impending,  and  that  the  spread  of  So- 
cialism is  certain  to  cause  vast  upheavals  in 
which  existing  institutions  will  undergo 
many  alterations. 

The  achievements  of  Lord  Northcliffe  in 
war  time  form  only  a  part  of  his  story.  No 
other  man  who  has  scaled  the  heights  of 
fame  in  this  age  has  made  the  ascent  so 
quickly  as  he,  and  none  has  had  such  a  mar- 


14  FOREWORD 

velous  career.  Indeed,  the  story  of  his  rise 
from  obscurity  to  eminence  is  so  full  of 
strange  experiences  and  amazing  events  that 
it  reads  almost  like  fiction.  From  its  begin- 
ning to  the  present  time  it  is  a  dramatic 
blending  of  romance  and  hard  facts. 

Owing  to  his  frequent  visits  to  this  coun- 
try and  the  consequent  publicity  that  he  has 
received,  the  name  of  this  enterprising  jour- 
nalist, publisher,  and  public  man  has  become 
familiar  to  large  numbers  of  Americans 
who  admire  his  versatility,  originality,  bril- 
liant achievements,  and  efficient  methods. 
He  is  unique  among  Englishmen  in  having 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  our  national  aims 
and  problems,  his  outlook  being  far  more 
American  than  English,  although  he  remains 
as  British  as  ever  and  is  the  most  ardent 
of  patriots. 

As  the  head  of  the  British  War  Mission 
to  the  United  States,  Lord  Northcliffe,  in 
1917,  became  even  more  widely  known  by 
reason  of  the  magnitude  of  his  work.  The 
enormous  expenditures  that  he  supervised 
totaled  eighty  million  dollars  a  week,  and 
covered  all  commodities  needed  by  Great 
Britain  for  war  purposes.  Under  his  con- 


FOREWORD  15 

trol  were  ten  thousand  men,  engaged  in  buy- 
ing war  supplies.  His  efficient  methods 
made  his  work  such  a  pronounced  success 
that  on  his  return  to  England  he  was 
thanked  by  the  king  and  received  the  higher 
title  of  viscount. 

Such  is  the  man  whose  services  to  his 
country  have  been  recognized  the  world 
over  and  who  is  undoubtedly  the  most  in- 
teresting figure  in  public  life  at  the  present 
time.  His  strenuous  personality  and  stir- 
ring deeds  have  incidentally  created  a  wide- 
spread demand  for  a  complete  account  of 
his  eventful  career. 

While  it  is  true  that  in  recent  years  many 
newspaper  and  magazine  articles  describing 
this  remarkable  genius  have  appeared,  yet 
none  has  presented  a  correct  picture  of  him. 
The  reason  is  that  he  is  far  too  big  to  be 
compressed  into  a  single  article,  for  volumes 
could  be  devoted  to  his  achievements. 

In  England  the  real  Northcliffe  is  as  lit- 
tle known  as  in  America,  which  probably 
accounts  for  the  conflicting  views  of  him 
that  exist  there.  By  his  own  countrymen  he 
has  been  called  the  most  dangerous  of  men 
and  the  sanest  of  men,  an  unselfish  patriot 


16 FOREWORD 

and  a  self-seeking  egotist.  He  is  to-day  the 
most  admired  and  the  most  vilified  man  in 
Great  Britain. 

The  only  way  in  which  his  true  character 
can  be  revealed  is  by  relating  what  he  has 
accomplished  and  summing  up  the  results. 
When  that  is  done,  the  real  Northcliffe 
emerges  to  replace  the  Northcliffe  of  imag- 
ination. Such  is  the  object  of  the  present 
volume,  which  tells  the  complete  story  of 
Lord  Northcliffe's  career  and  enables  him 
to  be  seen  as  he  actually  is. 

The  author,  it  may  be  added,  was  associ- 
ated with  the  great  journalist  for  many 
years,  and  belonged  to  the  staff  of  his  news- 
paper organization.  Before  and  behind  the 
scenes,  the  writer  had  an  opportunity  to 
study  this  masterful  man,  and  to  observe,  at 
close  range,  his  achievements  in  the  business, 
social,  and  political  realms.  The  resulting 
story  reveals  the  true  Lord  Northcliffe,  por- 
trays his  life  of  endeavor,  and  shows  him 
to  be  animated  by  patriotic  motives  and 
high  ideals  in  his  public  enterprises.  The 
career  of  Lord  Northcliffe,  in  short,  sup- 
plies the  best  answer  to  all  questions  as  to 
his  place  in  the  world  to-day. 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE 

"  You  shall  not  tell  the  people  the  truth," 
the  British  censor  had,  in  effect,  declared. 
The  British  press  was  muzzled. 

Incompetency's  idea  was  to  lie  smugly 
behind  a  wall  of  secrecy.  To  tell  the  truth 
to  the  people  who  were  paying  the  price 
of  war  with  blood  and  treasure  would  be 
treason. 

It  was  England's  darkest  hour. 

At  that  fateful  time,  in  the  spring  of 
1915,  when  the  war  outlook  was  serious  and 
the  safety  of  the  Allies  trembled  in  the  bal- 
ance, one  man  in  England  had  the  courage 
to  speak  out.  But  for  this  single  fearless, 
unselfish  patriot,  England's  doom  would 
have  been  sealed  because  she  would  have 
awakened  too  late  from  her  torpor  and 
complacency. 

While  the  British  censor  was  suppressing 
the  facts  and  incompetency  rejoiced,  this 

17 


18  NORTHCLIFFE 

man  was  preparing  to  attack  the  mighty 
fortress  of  official  incapacity,  to  scale  its 
walls,  and  to  plant  the  standard  of  efficiency 
on  its  highest  tower. 

The  man  who  displayed  this  unflinching 
courage  was  Lord  Northcliffe,  unquestion- 
ably Britain's  strongest  man  and  a  power 
in  the  British  Empire.  As  the  owner  of 
The  Times, — the  famous  "  Thunderer," — the 
Daily  Mail,  and  other  great  English  news- 
papers, he  represents  the  mightiest  force  of 
the  press.  As  a  leader  he  represents  the 
great  mass  of  the  British  people. 

Undaunted  by  threats  and  unintimidated 
by  warnings  from  high  officials,  Lord  North- 
cliffe prepared  to  launch  a  swift  attack  and 
reveal  the  truth  about  the  war  to  the  Brit- 
ish public,  which  remained  blissfully  igno- 
rant in  regard  to  what  was  taking  place  at 
the  front. 

On  May  20,  1915,  Lord  Northcliffe  called 
his  editors  together  at  the  Daily  Mail  office 
in  London,  to  discuss  this  momentous  ques- 
tion. 

As  they  assembled  in  the  council  room, 
he  entered  briskly  and  took  his  seat  at  the 
head  of  the  table.  A  determined-looking 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE       19 

man  of  middle  age,  heavy  shouldered  and 
strongly  built,  with  massive  head  pushed 
forward  aggressively,  his  keen  eyes  took  in 
every  one  at  a  glance.  His  greeting  was 
terse.  Even  a  stranger  would  have  instantly 
perceived  that  this  forceful  man  whose  mag- 
netic personality  filled  the  room  was  a 
leader  of  men. 

In  his  hand  Lord  Northcliffe  held  a  dis- 
patch that  contained  alarming  news  from 
the  front.  Before  him  was  spread  an  edi- 
torial based  on  this  dispatch.  When  he  had 
read  both  to  his  editors,  it  was  necessary  to 
decide  whether  the  news  should  be  pub- 
lished. To  submit  it  to  the  censor  would 
mean  its  suppression.  To  publish  it  with- 
out the  censor's  permission  would  be  a  seri- 
ous offense,  as  Lord  Northcliffe  very  well 
knew.  Anything,  in  short,  that  might  tend 
to  unsettle  public  confidence  and  give  com- 
fort to  the  enemy,  would  be  practically 
equivalent  to  treason. 

It  was  a  tense  and  dramatic  moment. 
While  consternation  reigned  among  his 
staff,  Lord,  Northcliffe  rose  and  paced  the 
room,  swiftly  reviewing  the  situation.  The 
risk,  he  knew,  was  great.  Could  he  face  a 


20  NORTHCLIFFE 

possible  accusation  of  treason  by  publish- 
ing the  truth,  and  at  the  same  time  with- 
stand the  consequences  of  daring  to  attack 
the  idol  of  the  British  public — Kitchener  of 
Khartoum?  Northcliffe,  who  looked  grave 
and  felt  even  more  grave  than  he  looked, 
realized  that  it  would  be  taking  desperate 
chances,  but  his  sense  of  patriotism  out- 
weighed all  other  considerations. 

Somewhat  brusquely  he  asked  his  experi- 
enced colleagues  for  their  opinions  and  lis- 
tened to  what  they  had  to  say.  It  was  a 
daring  move  that  he  had  in  mind,  and  as 
they  expressed  their  views,  they  watched  his 
face  anxiously  to  see  which  way  he  would 
decide.  Was  Northcliffe  strong  enough  to 
make  the  great  decision  which  might  lead 
to  the  most  brilliant  achievement  in  his 
career?  Was  he  willing  to  risk  going  down 
himself  that  Britain  might  be  saved? 

Lord  Northcliffe  paced  the  length  of  the 
table  and  back  once.  His  mind  was  made 
up.  He  wasted  no  words  in  argument. 

Turning  to  his  editors,  he  said  firmly  and 
decisively:  "That  news  must  go  into  the 
paper.  We  have  got  to  save  England;  the 
people  must  know  the  truth." 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE        21 

One  of  his  editors,  a  veteran  journalist 
whom  he  esteemed  highly,  ventured  to  sug- 
gest that  a  delay  might  be  advisable,  that 
there  was  great  personal  risk  attached  to 
this  action. 

'  There  is  no  other  alternative,"  reiterated 
Northcliffe,  "  the  people  must  have  the 
facts." 

Addressing  his  managing  editor,  he  gave 
his  final  instructions.  "  The  editorial  is 
right,"  he  said.  "  Send  the  paper  to  press." 

The  next  day,  May  21,  the  British  public 
was  astounded  when  the  Daily  Mail  pub- 
lished an  editorial  entitled :  "  The  Tragedy 
of  the  Shells;  Kitchener's  Grave  Error,"  in 
which  were  embodied  the  main  facts  con- 
tained in  the  news  dispatch.  It  was  fear- 
lessly declared  that  Lord  Kitchener,  the  idol 
of  the  nation,  then  absolute  czar  of  the 
War  Department,  was  sacrificing  thou- 
sands of  British  soldiers  by  supplying  the 
army  with  shells  which  were  almost  useless 
in  fighting  the  Germans.  Despite  repeated 
warnings,  he  had  persisted  in  sending  out 
shrapnel  when  what  was  vitally  needed  was 
high-explosive  shells  that  would  blast  a  pas- 
sage through  the  German  trenches  and  en- 


22  NORTHCLIFFE 

tanglements  and  enable  the  British  troops 
to  advance. 

The  editorial  declared,  moreover,  that 
while  huge  explosive  shells  fired  from  the 
German  "  Big  Berthas  "  and  wide-mouthed 
howitzers  plowed  their  way  through  the 
British  defenses,  causing  frightful  slaughter, 
the  British  were  compelled  to  reply  with 
shrapnel,  which  was  almost  as  ineffective  as 
blowing  peas  against  a  concrete  wall. 

All  England  was  in  an  uproar  when  the 
Daily  Mail  editorial  appeared.  Rival  news- 
papers attacked  Lord  Northcliffe  with  great 
bitterness,  declaring  that  the  statements  con- 
cerning Kitchener  were  maliciously  false. 
The  government  was  urged  to  suppress  the 
offending  newspaper  and  arrest  its  editors, 
who  were  declared  to  be  guilty  of  treason. 
So  great  was  the  nation's  faith  in  its  idol, 
Kitchener,  that  the  general  public  refused 
to  believe  the  charges,  and  Northcliffe  found 
himself,  for  the  time  being,  the  most  detested 
and  execrated  man  in  England. 

A  mob  in  a  London  street  howled  at  the 
Daily  Mail  and  shouted  for  vengeance; 
members  of  the  London  Stock  Exchange, 
to  show  their  indignation,  ceremoniously 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE       23 

burned  copies  of  the  "  scurrilous  sheet,"  as 
they  termed  the  newspaper.  Meetings  were 
held  all  over  England,  at  which  people 
solemnly  pledged  themselves  never  again  to 
read  any  of  the  Northcliffe  journals.  Feel- 
ing rose  to  such  a  pitch,  that  threats  were 
made  against  the  newspaper  owner's  life, 
and  an  armed  guard  was  found  necessary 
for  his  protection. 

Through  all  this  commotion,  however, 
Lord  Northcliffe  did  not  lose  his  head,  but 
remained  cool  and  undaunted,  because  he 
knew  that  his  statements  were  based  on 
facts.  He  was  also  sustained  by  a  high 
sense  of  duty  and  patriotism;  for  if  there  is 
one  dominating  impulse  in  the  character  of 
this  man,  it  is  his  intense  love  for  England. 
With  him  it  masters  every  other  considera- 
tion. That  is  why  he  had  determined  to 
speak  out  when  he  discovered  that  Kitch- 
ener's policy  was  bringing  his  beloved  coun- 
try to  the  verge  of  defeat,  regardless  of  the 
attacks  which  he  knew  would  follow. 

At  that  critical  time,  when  an  avalanche 
of  censure  and  abuse  was  sweeping  down 
on  the  Daily  Mail  and  its  owner,  Will 
Irwin,  the  American  correspondent,  called 


24  NORTHCLIFFE 

on  Northcliffe  and  found  him  grave  but 
resolute.  "  How  is  the  circulation  of  the 
Daily  Mail? "  asked  Irwin.  "  It's  increas- 
ing," replied  Northcliffe ;  and  he  added  iron- 
ically: "I  suppose  they're  buying  copies  to 
burn  them." 

But  the  situation  was  serious.  Adver- 
tisers began  to  drop  off,  rival  newspapers 
increased  their  attacks,  and  Northcliffe  was 
urged  to  retract  his  statements.  Instead  of 
doing  so  he  caused  the  charges  made  by  the 
Daily  Mail  to  be  repeated  in  The  Times. 
Replying  to  his  critics,  he  declared  in  the 
Daily  Mail:  "All  that  we  have  hitherto 
written  will  be  justified  in  the  near  future." 
Meanwhile,  the  government,  realizing  that 
what  the  Daily  Mail  had  said  was  perfectly 
true,  took  no  action  toward  punishing  its 
fearless  owner  for  having  published  the 
truth. 

To  understand  the  precise  state  of  affairs, 
it  is  necessary  to  get  an  idea  of  the  war 
situation  in  May,  1915.  At  that  time  the 
Allies  were  in  a  serious  predicament.  The 
French  had  been  forced  back  at  several 
points,  and  a  break  followed  by  another  and 
possibly  a  successful  drive  on  Paris  seemed 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE        25 

inevitable.  All  hopes  of  holding  Gallipoli 
were  being  abandoned  by  the  British,  the 
Turks,  under  German  leadership,  having 
rendered  the  campaign  there  abortive.  On 
the  eastern  front  the  Russians  were  in  re- 
treat at  some  important  points,  their  forces 
badly  disorganized.  Modern  strategy,  as 
carried  out  by  the  Germans,  had  thus  chal- 
lenged the  highest  skill  of  the  generals  who 
led  the  armies  of  France  and  Russia. 

But  to  the  British  public  this  dishearten- 
ing array  of  facts  seemed  of  minor  impor- 
tance, because  the  London  newspapers  were 
continually  filled  with  reports  of  British  vic- 
tories in  Belgium.  "  British  Forces  Ad- 
vance"; "Huns  in  Retreat" — so  read  their 
headlines  from  day  to  day.  The  French 
might  retire,  likewise  the  Russians,  but  what 
mattered  that  as  long  as  one  British  soldier 
was  a  match  for  three  Germans  and  the 
enemy  shrank  from  facing  British  bayonets? 

It  was  such  stuff  as  this  that  was  fed  to 
the  British  public  in  the  spring  of  1915, 
when  the  censor  made  everybody  in  Eng- 
land happy  by  putting  his  blue  pencil 
through  almost  anything  in  the  shape  of 
bad  news.  Thus  the  impression  became  gen- 


26  NORTHCLIFFE 

eral  that  the  war  would  soon  be  over,  that 
the  Kaiser,  like  Napoleon,  would  be  shipped 
to  St.  Helena,  and  that  British  "  Tommies  " 
would  be  seen  parading  victoriously  in  the 
streets  of  Berlin. 

That  was  what  the  man  in  the  street  be- 
lieved. But  there  were  some  people  in  Eng- 
land who  shook  their  heads  and  silently 
doubted  all  these  glowing  stories.  Men  who 
had  returned  from  the  front  whispered  that 
all  was  not  well.  That  there  was  some  foun- 
dation for  this  pessimism  the  sequel  will 
show. 

In  April,  1915,  Lord  Northcliffe  received 
a  dispatch  from  a  military  expert,  who  rep- 
resented his  newspapers  at  the  front,  in 
which  it  was  stated  that  the  British  army 
was  endangered  by  an  alarming  shortage  of 
high-explosive  shells.  How  this  dispatch 
managed  to  pass  the  French  and  British 
lines  has  never  been  told. 

A  practical  newspaperman  and  well  quali- 
fied to  fill  the  position  of  "  star  reporter," 
Lord  Northcliffe  sometimes  investigates  im- 
portant matters  himself  instead  of  relying 
on  some  one  else  for  his  information.  On 
this  occasion  the  situation  was  so  critical 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE        27 

that  he  decided,  with  his  characteristic  thor- 
oughness, to  ascertain  the  facts  by  acting  as 
his  own  reporter.  With  this  object,  he  se- 
cretly crossed  the  English  Channel  and 
visited  the  British  headquarters,  where  he 
learned  that  the  statements  contained  in  the 
dispatch  were  substantially  correct.  Hav- 
ing secured  this  information  he  returned  to 
London,  where  he  immediately  held  a  coun- 
cil at  the  Daily  Mail  office.  Then  followed 
the  publication  of  the  news,  with  all  the  sen- 
sational developments  already  described. 

It  was  a  daring  feat  to  print  the  news 
and  to  defy  the  censorship.  It  was  even 
more  serious  to  defy  British  public  opinion 
by  attacking  Lord  Kitchener,  the  grim, 
taciturn  hero  of  the  nation,  who  allowed 
no  interference  with  the  War  Department 
which  he  governed  with  absolute  power. 
And  yet,  much  as  he  admired  Kitchener, 
Northcliffe  had  taken  the  right  course. 

The  truth  is  that  while  Lord  Kitchener 
had  done  some  magnificent  work  in  raising 
a  great  British  army  at  the  beginning  of 
the  war  and  getting  it  over  to  France,  yet 
he  was  not  a  military  expert  versed  in  the 
science  of  modern  warfare.  He  was  un- 


28  NORTHCLIFFE 

doubtedly  a  good  business  man  and  a  won- 
derful organizer,  but  he  had  gained  most 
of  his  experience  in  India  and  Egypt,  and 
his  long  absences  from  Europe  had  kept 
him  out  of  touch  with  the  latest  develop- 
ments in  arms  and  ammunition. 

As  time  went  on  a  realization  of  these 
facts  began  to  dawn  in  England.  Protests 
from  the  front  regarding  the  deficiency  of 
high-explosive  shells  began  to  reach  the 
heads  of  the  British  government  in  such 
volume  that  the  truth  could  no  longer  be 
suppressed,  and  the  censorship  was  lifted. 
It  was  then  discovered  that  Lord  North- 
cliffe  had  been  right  after  all.  Rival  news- 
papers at  once  learned  the  facts  from  their 
own  correspondents,  and  instead  of  continu- 
ing to  denounce  the  fearless  journalist  as  a 
traitor  they  repeated  what  the  Daily  Mail 
and  The  Times  had  already  said. 

Whatever  satisfaction  Northeliffe  might 
have  derived  from  this  vindication  did  not 
obscure  his  original  purpose  in  making  his 
charges.  While  the  British  troops,  as  the 
result  of  the  outcry  that  was  raised,  were 
promptly  supplied  with  suitable  munitions, 
there  still  remained  the  difficulty  that  they 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE       29 

were  not  getting  enough.  Northcliffe  at 
once  seized  the  opportunity  to  make  himself 
heard  again. 

The  war,  he  declared,  was  being  misman- 
aged because  the  War  Department  was 
conducted  on  inefficient  lines.  That  depart- 
ment, he  insisted,  should  be  restricted  to  its 
proper  military  business  of  raising  and 
training  soldiers,  while  the  purely  industrial 
business  of  producing  munitions  should  be 
'kept  distinctly  apart.  And  so  it  came  to 
pass.  Stirred  by  the  arguments  of  the 
Northcliffe  press,  the  British  government 
created  a  new  cabinet  post,  Minister  of  Mu- 
nitions, and  David  Lloyd  George,  a  man  of 
the  people  and  admired  by  the  masses,  a 
practical  man  as  well  as  a  statesman,  was 
selected  to  fill  the  position. 

Here  again  was  seen  how  dominating  is 
Northcliffe's  sense  of  patriotism.  He  had 
ruthlessly  attacked  Kitchener,  whom  his 
newspapers  had  once  lauded  as  a  national 
hero,  because  the  head  of  the  War  Depart- 
ment had  proved  inefficient.  He  now  gave 
his  utmost  support  to  Lloyd  George,  the 
Welsh  radical,  whose  political  ideas  he  had 
bitterly  opposed.  As  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 


30  NORTHCLIFFE 

chequer  Lloyd  George  had  done  good  work, 
and  Northcliffe  was  ready  to  admit  that  he 
was  the  right  man  to  head  the  munitions 
department. 

Raising  the  slogan,  "  Shells  and  More 
Shells ! "  Lloyd  George,  backed  by  the 
Northcliffe  press,  speedily  aroused  the  peo- 
ple of  England  to  the  importance  of  supply- 
ing what  was  needed,  and  in  an  inconceiv- 
ably short  time  Great  Britain  was  covered 
with  a  network  of  arsenals  and  munition 
factories.  Northcliffe  had  correctly  inter- 
preted the  spirit  of  the  English  people. 
They  were  ready  to  make  any  sacrifice  that 
would  lead  to  victory,  but  they  required 
direction. 

Hundreds  of  thousands  of  girls  and 
women,  drawn  from  all  classes,  including 
school-teachers,  stenographers,  domestic  serv- 
ants, and  salesgirls,  and  even  the  daughters 
of  the  well-to-do,  all  anxious  to  "do  their 
bit,"  were  soon  engaged  in  munition  manu- 
facturing. They  had  to  be  taught  the  use 
of  deadly  explosives.  It  meant  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  new  school  of  labor.  To  ac- 
commodate these  workers  new  towns  of 
temporary  houses,  similar  to  our  military 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE       31 

camps,  were  put  up  in  the  country  dis- 
tricts. Huge  government  factories  were 
built  in  the  important  industrial  centers,  and 
correlated  industries  were  enlisted  in  the 
work  of  supplying  munitions.  In  many 
ways  the  whole  face  of  England  became 
entirely  changed.  Efficient  organization  re- 
placed haphazard  effort,  enthusiasm  sup- 
planted indifference,  and  for  the  first  time 
the  people  of  Great  Britain  set  themselves, 
with  heart  and  soul,  to  the  big  task  of  win- 
ning the  war. 

Northcliffe  had  at  last  won  his  fight  for 
high-explosive  shells.  The  factories,  indeed, 
were  turning  them  out  rapidly  and  in  such 
vast  quantities  that  Britain  was  able  not 
only  to  supply  her  own  army  and  heap  up 
reserves  for  any  imaginable  contingency,  but 
also  to  supply  her  allies. 

This,  in  brief,  is  the  story  of  the  mo- 
mentous decision  made  by  Northcliffe  on 
the  twentieth  of  May,  1915,  which  undoubt- 
edly saved  England  from  defeat.  When 
properly  equipped  the  British  army,  instead 
of  remaining  supinely  on  the  defensive, 
made  a  general  advance,  scattering  the  Ger- 
man shock  battalions  and  giving  the  cause 


32  NORTHCLIFFE 

of  the  Allies  a  new  impetus.  The  French, 
taking  heart  again,  drove  back  the  Germans 
at  several  points,  while  the  Russians,  catch- 
ing the  same  spirit,  cleared  the  enemy  out 
of  the  territories  on  the  eastern  front  and 
kept  them  out  until  the  debacle  of  German 
intrigue  made  chaos  of  Russia. 

Momentous  as  Northcliffe's  decision  had 
been  to  the  Allied  cause,  it  was  of  equal 
importance  to  himself.  His  stand  against 
official  incompetency  had  been  the  supreme 
test  of  his  power.  If  he  had  failed  he 
would  not  only  have  met  his  Waterloo,  but 
would  probably  have  sunk  in  influence  and 
reputation  to  the  level  of  a  common  scold. 
With  success,  however,  there  came  the  reali- 
zation that  this  man,  fearless  of  conse- 
quences, had  struck  only  because  his  coun- 
try was  in  danger  and  that  by  his  action  he 
had  saved  England.  Northcliffe's  power 
was  thus  confirmed,  and  he  came  to  the 
front  again  as  the  unofficial  spokesman  of 
the  British  people  and  the  mandate  of  their 
will. 

How  far-reaching  Northcliffe's  influence 
ultimately  became  was  strikingly  shown  in 
the  autumn  of  1916,  when  he  brought  about 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE       33 

the  most  effective  political  revolution  ever 
wrought  through  a  group  of  newspapers 
— the  overthrow  of  the  Asquith  govern- 
ment. The  story  can  be  told  in  a  few 
words. 

The  Liberal  party,  which  had  been  in 
power  under  Mr.  Asquith  when  war  was 
declared,  and  the  coalition  government  which 
succeeded  it,  under  the  same  leadership, 
were  both  found  to  be  wanting  in  the 
strength  and  energy  required  to  pilot  Great 
Britain  safely  in  a  time  of  grave  national 
peril.  A  scholarly  politician  of  the  old 
school,  Mr.  Asquith  was  clearly  not  an  ideal 
leader,  and  therefore  when  it  became  evi- 
dent that  the  government  was  mismanaging 
the  war,  Northcliffe,  thundering  with  Jovian 
authority,  demanded  the  appointment  of  an 
efficient,  compact  war  cabinet  that  could 
get  things  done.  So  great  was  the  force  of 
public  sentiment  aroused  by  his  newspapers 
that  Mr.  Asquith  was  at  last  compelled  to 
retire,  giving  place  to  Lloyd  George  as 
prime  minister. 

In  accordance  with  Northcliffe's  advice, 
given  editorially,  the  new  premier  at  once 
formed  a  cabinet  of  practical,  self-made 


34  NORTHCLIFFE 

business  men  who  were  experts  in  their  own 
lines,  such  as  Sir  Joseph  Maclay,  the  Ship- 
ping Controller,  once  captain  of  a  tramp 
steamer;  Lord  Devonport,  Food  Controller, 
who  started  life  as  clerk  in  a  grocery  and 
now  owns  a  chain  of  retail  stores;  and  Sir 
Albert  Stanley,  once  an  American  citizen, 
who  became  a  traction  expert  in  the  United 
States  before  returning  to  England,  the 
land  of  his  birth. 

Even  more  interesting  than  these  notable 
men  is  Sir  Eric  Geddes,  who  was  appointed 
Deputy-General  of  Munitions.  A  self-made 
man  who  had  gained  a  variety  of  experi- 
ences in  all  parts  of  the  world,  from  rail- 
road builder  to  business  manager,  he  took 
over  the  production  of  rifles,  small  arms, 
transport  vehicles,  machine  guns,  and  sal- 
vage. He  introduced  a  system  by  which 
empty  brass  cartridge  cases  were  used  over 
a  dozen  times.  He  reorganized  and  recon- 
structed the  railway  system  in  northern 
France,  which  required  the  building  of  a 
terminal  as  large  as  the  Grand  Central  Ter- 
minal in  New  York  City  for  the  efficient 
handling  of  trains. 

Under  Geddes'  direction,  lines  were  built 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE       35 

so  expeditiously  that  when  the  Germans  re- 
treated on  the  Somme  in  1917  the  railway 
followed  right  behind  them.  He  also  took 
charge  of  the  canals  in  northern  France, 
over  which  are  moved  each  month  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  tons  of  freight  and 
thousands  of  wounded  men.  He  gath- 
ered a  corps  of  experts  in  all  branches, 
knowing  that  for  an  expert  job  it  was  requi- 
site to  get  experts  and  leave  them  alone. 
After  the  Battle  of  Jutland  there  was  dis- 
satisfaction with  the  management  of  the 
British  fleet  and  a  demand  for  younger  and 
redder  blood.  Geddes  was  then  made  Con- 
troller of  the  Navy,  and  subsequently  he 
was  appointed  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty. 
The  appointment  of  experts  to  manage 
the  various  departments  of  the  government 
put  an  end  to  a  system  of  compromise  and 
delay.  Northcliif e  himself  regarded  this  in- 
novation as  the  most  sweeping  change  that 
had  taken  place  in  British  public  life  since 
the  passage  of  the  Reform  Bill  in  the  reign 
of  William  IV.  Stripped  of  its  glamour, 
the  whole  episode  was  merely  a  translation 
of  efficient  team  work  into  terms  of  national 
administration.  In  other  words,  it  was  the 


36  NORTHCLIFFE 

case  of  a  practical  man  applying  practical 
methods  during  a  national  crisis.  The  re- 
sult has  been  that  to-day  in  no  Allied  coun- 
try have  business  talents  been  so  completely 
commandeered  as  in  England.  With  the 
exception  of  the  premier, — Lloyd  George, — 
Mr.  Balfour,  and  a  few  other  seasoned  office 
holders,  the  cabinet  is  practically  a  board 
of  directors  that  can  deal  with  any  problem 
of  cost  and  distribution  that  happens  to 
come  up. 

The  remarkable  achievement  of  North- 
cliffe  in  saving  England  in  the  dark  hours 
of  1915,  and  his  subsequent  triumph  in  forc- 
ing the  retirement  of  a  British  prime  min- 
ister who  had  proved  to  be  inefficient,  were 
only  in  keeping  with  the  whole  course  of 
his  journalistic  career.  For  the  last  twenty 
years  he  has  been  at  the  forefront  of  every 
national  movement,  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant of  which  he  started  himself.  In 
looking  backward  no  one  can  fail  to  be 
impressed  by  the  almost  prophetic  insight 
that  has  characterized  most  of  his  agitations. 

Probably  the  first  of  his  important  bat- 
tles, and  one  which  sounded  the  keynote  of 
his  subsequent  career,  was  in  the  days  of  the 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE       37 

South  African  War,  when  the  embattled 
Boer  farmers  were  out-fighting,  out-maneu- 
vering, and  out-generaling  the  British  forces. 
At  that  time,  when  he  was  plain  Alfred 
Harmsworth,  the  enterprising  journalist, 
through  his  newspaper,  the  Daily  Mail,  ham- 
mered the  incompetents  in  the  War  Depart- 
ment and  the  incompetent  generals  in  the 
field  until  Lord  Roberts,  and  then  Lord 
Kitchener,  were  sent  out  to  South  Africa  to 
bring  victory. 

With  a  broad  vision  of  imperial  unity 
rivaling  that  of  Cecil  Rhodes,  Northcliffe  in- 
sisted that  the  Boers,  though  beaten,  were 
not  disgraced  and  must  be  welcomed  into 
the  British  family.  With  other  far-seeing 
men,  he  urged  that  the  South  African  states 
should  be  consolidated  into  an  autonomous 
colony,  and  assisted  materially  in  bringing 
about  that  magnificent  result.  To-day,  with 
minor  exceptions,  the  Boers  have  become  the 
staunchest  supporters  of  the  British  cause, 
and  General  Smuts,  once  a  bitter  foe  of 
England,  now  sits  in  the  War  Council  in 
London. 

The  same  vision  of  unity  in  its  relation 
to  other  British  colonies  has  for  years  been 


38  NORTHCLIFFE 

a  tenet  of  Northcliffe's  faith.  For  the  pur- 
pose of  strengthening  the  bonds  of  Empire 
he  has  issued  overseas  editions  of  his  news- 
papers, which  have  had  an  enormous  circu- 
lation in  all  parts  of  the  world.  He  has 
also  organized  overseas  cluhs,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  cultivating  a  spirit  of  fraternity 
among  all  men  of  British  descent,  and  these 
have  gained  a  vast  membership.  Whenever 
opportunity  has  been  afforded,  he  has  raised 
his  voice  in  defense  of  the  rights  of  the 
British  colonies,  and  in  his  newspapers  and 
periodicals  has  emphasized  the  wonderful 
progress  that  is  being  made  in  all  the  self- 
governing  dominions.  During  the  present 
war  he  has  been  unstinted  in  his  praise  of 
the  heroism  displayed  by  Britannia's  sons 
from  Canada,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  and 
other  parts  of  the  Empire  that  fly  their  own 
modifications  of  the  Union  Jack. 

Northcliffe's  prediction  of  the  great  war, 
in  a  widely  published  interview  in  1909, 
would  apparently  endow  him  with  seerlike 
qualities  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  his 
prophecy  was  based  upon  information  ob- 
tained from  his  correspondents  and  confi- 
dential agents.  When  he  discovered  that 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE       39 

Germany  was  preparing  to  strike  more  sud- 
denly than  in  1870,  when  France  was  drawn 
into  a  disastrous  war,  he  urged  England  to 
get  ready  for  the  impending  conflict.  His 
warnings,  however,  fell  on  deaf  ears,  with 
the  result  that  England,  like  America,  was 
unprepared  when  the  crisis  arrived. 

When  the  war  began  he  saw  at  once  what 
the  British  public  did  not  realize,  namely, 
that  it  would  be  a  long  war,  and  that  the 
task  of  raising  and  equipping  an  adequate 
army  was  gigantic.  He  saw,  too,  that  com- 
pulsory service  must  come,  as  he  had  in- 
sisted for  several  years.  The  British  peo- 
ple, however,  would  have  none  of  it,  believ- 
ing that  conscription  was  undemocratic  and 
that  a  volunteer  army  would  suffice.  In 
spite  of  opposition  from  a  large  element  of 
the  public  and  the  attacks  of  some  influen- 
tial newspapers,  the  undaunted  advocate  of 
efficiency  carried  on  his  campaign  for  con- 
scription, and  eventually  won  the  fight. 
The  result  has  been  that  Great  Britain 
to-day  has  an  army  of  four  millions  on  the 
fighting  line,  while  men  unfit  for  service  in 
the  field  are  engaged  in  some  form  of  activ- 
ity nationally  beneficial. 


40  NORTHCLIFFE 

Despite  the  pleas  of  pacifists  for  disarma- 
ment, Northcliffe  fought  successfully  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  British  navy  at  the 
standard  of  twice  the  strength  of  its  most 
powerful  rival.  But  for  his  continued  pres- 
sure, the  German  navy  would  have  been 
permitted  to  surpass  that  of  Great  Britain. 
After  the  war  began,  his  broom  swept  the 
almost  sacrosanct  British  admiralty  clear  of 
various  incompetents  and  brought  about  the 
substitution  of  young  and  able  efficients. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  war,  when  stories 
of  sacrifice  and  slaughter  were  partly  con- 
cealed by  the  censorship,  the  Northcliffe 
newspapers  presented  the  facts  instead  of 
attempting  to  evade  them.  When  the  dire- 
ful retreat  from  Mons  occurred,  these  papers 
were  the  first  to  relate  how  narrowly  the 
Allied  troops  had  escaped  worse  disaster. 
Instead  of  keeping  quiet  and  pretending  that 
each  successive  mistake  that  England  made 
was  another  "  strategic  retreat,"  as  decent 
Englishmen  were  expected  to  do,  North- 
cliffe constantly  pointed  out  the  blunders 
and  insisted  upon  their  being  remedied  with 
all  possible  speed.  Though  not  in  the  thick 
of  the  fighting,  he  was  kept  informed  of 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE     41 

every  important  development,  and  was  ready 
at  all  times  to  expose  incapacity  in  high 
circles.  The  record  of  this  power  behind 
the  army  is  a  narrative  of  unflinching  brav- 
ery which  has  been  a  means  of  bringing 
about  a  high  state  of  military  efficiency. 

An  embargo  on  exports  to  Holland  and 
the  Scandinavian  countries  that  were  sup- 
plying Germany  with  food  and  other  com- 
modities— a  plan  which  the  United  States 
eventually  adopted — was  another  policy  for 
which  Northcliffe  fought. 

He  has  also  been  the  greatest  advocate 
of  the  freedom  of  the  British  press.  From 
its  inception  the  censorship  in  England  was 
his  target,  his  assertion  being  that  it  was  a 
device  to  mask  inefficiency  and  conceal  the 
truth.  His  barbed  arrows  at  last  compelled 
the  government  to  modify  its  restrictions. 

The  progress  of  this  resourceful  man, 
however,  has  not  been  along  a  rose-strewn 
path  of  public  applause.  In  fact,  no  man  in 
England,  in  recent  years,  has  been  the  tar- 
get of  more  bitter  abuse.  His  enemies  are 
legion,  particularly  among  his  newspaper 
rivals  and  the  official  inefficients.  But  much 
as  he  is  hated,  he  is  feared  still  more,  be- 


42 NORTHCLIFFE 

cause  no  one  knows  where  his  lightning  will 
strike  next.  Hence,  incompetency  shud- 
ders, while  competents  in  the  war  game  are 
constantly  kept  up  to  the  mark.  Alone 
among  English  citizenry  he  has  refused  to 
permit  his  countrymen  to  maintain  their 
complacent  torpor  of  superiority  and  the 
hereditary  belief  that  they  are  immaculate 
and  unconquerable  by  virtue  of  being  Eng- 
lish. Such  heresy  could  have  but  one  re- 
sult, an  utter  detestation  of  Northcliffe  by 
a  certain  proportion  of  the  English  upper 
classes. 

This  may  possibly  serve  to  explain  why 
he  has  been  so  persistently  loaded  with 
honors.  It  is  an  old  formula  with  the  gov- 
erning classes  in  England  that  whenever  a 
man  becomes  dangerous  to  the  established 
order  of  things,  the  best  way  to  keep  him 
quiet  is  to  give  him  a  title.  This  plan,  how- 
ever, proved  a  wretched  failure  in  North- 
cliffe's  case. 

In  1904,  when  he  was  Mr.  Alfred  Harms- 
worth,  he  was  made  a  baronet — a  sort  of 
hereditary  knight — and  was  transformed  into 
Sir  Alfred  Harmsworth.  When  he  became 
more  persistent  than  ever  in  his  attacks  on 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE       43 

the  old  school  of  politicians,  it  probably  oc- 
curred to  the  higher  powers  that  perhaps 
the  title  was  not  big  enough.  In  1906, 
therefore,  Sir  Alfred  was  honored  with  a 
peerage,  receiving  the  title  of  baron  and  a 
seat  in  the  House  of  Lords.  As  Lord 
Northcliffe  the  versatile  journalist  proved 
to  be  even  more  energetic  in  stirring  up 
trouble  for  the  clique  of  elderly  politicians 
in  the  official  circle.  Presumably  as  a  last 
resort,  he  has  recently  been  created  a  vis- 
count, but  his  enemies  already  opine  that 
even  a  dukedom  would  furnish  no  curb  to 
his  activities. 

From  even  this  brief  review  it  can  be 
readily  understood  why  Northcliffe's  appeals 
to  the  public  have  assumed  all  the  force  and 
meaning  of  a  national  message,  and  have 
made  him  far  more  powerful  than  any  Brit- 
ish statesman  of  the  present  era.  And  what 
is  more,  the  people  of  England  regard  him 
with  confidence,  because  he  invariably  sees 
dangers  ahead  and  warns  the  government 
how  to  avoid  them.  Amidst  the  perils  of 
war  he  has  acted  as  Britain's  national  pilot, 
and  his  advice  has  usually  been  followed 
whenever  it  has  become  necessary,  for  the 


44  NORTHCLIFFE 

safety  of  the  ship  of  state,  to  jettison  an 
incapable  cabinet  or  to  drop  incompetent 
heads  of  departments. 

In  attempting  to  describe  Lord  North- 
cliffe  most  writers  have  found  themselves 
at  a  loss  for  words  to  make  his  amazing 
personality  known  to  the  world.  Searching 
for  appropriate  terms,  they  have  called  him 
"The  Colossus  of  the  Press,"  "The  Na- 
poleon of  Journalism,"  "  The  Modern  War- 
wick," and  "  The  Goad  of  Empire."  They 
have  described  him  as  the  personal  director 
of  democratic  Britain,  the  champion  of  war, 
and  the  dare-devil  leader  of  British  public 
opinion. 

All  these  phrases,  however,  are  too  mildly 
insufficient  to  portray  the  self-made  man 
who  has  risen  from  obscurity  to  giant  emi- 
nence, whose  magnificent  achievements  are 
written  on  history's  pages,  and  who  to-day 
is  unquestionably  the  most  commanding 
figure  in  the  British  Empire.  Such  is  Lord 
Northcliffe,  a  public  man  who  has  no  paral- 
lel in  the  United  States  or  any  other 
country. 

Modern  history  contains  no  such  charac- 
ter as  this  forceful  man  who  holds  no 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE       45 

public  office,  and  yet  is  able  to  make  or  un- 
make governments  by  welding  millions  of 
supporters  together  in  carrying  out  his 
great  enterprises  for  his  country's  welfare. 
Through  his  extraordinary  genius  and  abil- 
ity, as  the  facts  have  shown,  he  has  unified 
British  democracy,  which,  under  his  guid- 
ance, has  transformed  Great  Britain  into  a 
single-minded,  purposeful  nation  whose  con- 
stant aim  is  efficiency. 

The  leader  of  the  British  press  and  un- 
doubtedly the  most  influential  journalist  in 
the  world,  Lord  Northcliffe,  through  his 
newspapers,  especially  The  Times  and  the 
Daily  Mail,  reaches  every  grade  of  Britain's 
population  from  proletariat  to  prince,  with 
the  result  that  he  has  built  up  a  following 
more  permanent  and  powerful  than  that  of 
any  statesman.  Whenever  he  agitates  for 
a  change  in  the  government  or  launches  any 
other  great  movement,  a  large  proportion 
of  the  British  public  follows  his  leadership. 
Thus  he  has  become  the  unofficial  spokes- 
man of  millions  of  British  voters  just  as 
surely  as  if  he  were  their  chosen  prime 
minister. 

While  he  possesses  all  the  power  of  a  great 


46  NORTHCLIFFE 

politician  upheld  by  the  votes  of  a  nation, 
Northcliffe's  power,  unlike  that  of  even  the 
greatest  politician,  is  continuous  and  un- 
trammeled  because  it  is  derived  from  the 
newspapers  that  he  owns  and  directs.  No 
American  newspaper  owner  has  ever  had 
such  enormous  power  as  this  world-famous 
journalist  possesses,  nor  has  any  group  of 
American  newspapers  ever  exerted  a  na- 
tional influence  comparable  with  that  of  the 
Northcliffe  press.  The  main  reason  is  to 
be  found  in  the  material  differences  between 
the  social  conditions  of  Great  Britain  and 
those  of  the  United  States. 

While  this  country  is  a  huge  melting  pot 
for  many  races  fusing  together  to  make  a 
nation,  the  British  public,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  a  coherent  public  with  a  common 
language,  a  common  heritage,  and  common 
ideals.  In  other  words,  the  people  of  Great 
Britain  are  all  British  and  are  influenced  by 
whatever  appeals  to  Britons. 

There  is  still  another  point  of  difference. 
Because  of  the  vastness  of  the  United 
States,  even  an  important  newspaper  can 
influence  only  a  comparatively  small  part  of 
the  country.  A  New  York  newspaper,  for  ex- 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE        47 

ample,  has  little  or  no  influence  on  the  public 
of  San  Francisco,  Chicago,  Boston,  or  even 
Philadelphia.  In  Great  Britain,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  great  mass  of  its  forty-six  mil- 
lion people  are  concentrated  within  two 
small  islands  and  the  Northcliife  newspapers 
reach  every  corner  of  the  United  Kingdom  on 
the  day  of  publication.  The  people  of  Great 
Britain,  moreover,  take  more  seriously  than 
we  do  the  editorial  utterances  of  important 
newspapers,  and  this  explains  why  it  is  that 
a  great  newspaper,  such  as  the  London 
Times,  commands  a  national  following  and 
when  it  calls  for  action  can  count  on  a  sub- 
stantial response. 

Given  these  fundamentals,  plus  the  gift 
of  leadership,  the  well-nigh  superhuman 
energy,  and  the  almost  psychic  instinct  for 
public  needs  which  Lord  Northcliife  pos- 
sesses, it  can  be  readily  understood  how  he 
has  been  able  to  weld  his  newspapers  into  a 
national  force  that  can  make  or  unmake  gov- 
ernments and  formulate  policies  to  an  ex- 
tent unknown  in  the  United  States.  Through 
them  he  has  become  one  of  the  most  domi- 
nating figures  that  Great  Britain  has  ever 
seen.  At  his  command  forces  are  arrayed 


48  NORTHCLIFFE 

that  sway  elections  and  enhance  or  destroy 
political  reputations. 

The  policy  of  the  Northcliffe  press,  it  may 
be  added,  has  been  wholly  constructive,  and, 
as  Lord  Northcliffe  has  never  sought  a  pub- 
lic office,  whatever  appeals  he  may  make 
are  clearly  not  inspired  by  any  desire  for 
political  honors.  His  newspapers,  which  ex- 
press his  vivid  ideas  and  reflect  his  remark- 
able personality,  have  in  the  face  of  abuse 
and  every  accusation  up  to  treason  twice 
undone  and  remade  the  high  councils  of 
England  at  war. 

To-day  there  is  no  man  in  Great  Britain, 
and  certainly  but  few  in  the  world,  more 
conspicuous  than  Lord  Northcliffe  or  so 
vitally  interesting  to  the  public.  His  career 
has  proved  in  many  ways  that  the  big  things 
of  the  world  are  always  done  by  individuals 
and  that  one-man  power  is  the  principal 
thing  that  counts.  That  is  why  some  of  his 
admirers  have  described  him  as  the  biggest 
man  in  the  world. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  best  summaries  of 
Northcliffe's  personality,  his  marvelous  com- 
bination of  pluck,  originality,  endurance, 
and  perseverance,  has  been  given  by  Isaac 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE       49 

F.  Marcosson,  an  American  writer,  who  has 
made  a  careful  study  of  the  Northcliffe 
press  and  its  enterprising  founder. 

"  Whether,"  says  Marcosson,  "  Northcliffe 
is  a  crisis-monger  or  merchant  of  clamor, 
prophet  of  panic  and  depression  (as  his 
enemies  make  out),  or  whether  he  is  the 
voice  of  democracy,  the  safeguard  of  public 
liberty,  and  the  custodian  of  the  nation's 
welfare  (as  his  friends  and  supporters  at- 
test), one  fact  is  certain:  he  is  the  liveliest 
and  most  vital  entity  in  England,  a  man 
alternately  praised  and  damned,  who  by  the 
changes  he  has  wrought  must  be  regarded 
as  the  Warwick  of  the  war.  If  he  lived  in 
America  he  would  be  a  President  maker." 

To  use  American  terms,  Northcliffe  is 
Britain's  exponent  of  "  the  big  stick,"  "  the 
man  with  the  punch,"  and  "  the  apostle  of 
efficiency."  A  still  better  epitome  of  his 
character  is  contained  in  the  phrase  of  an 
English  admirer,  "  The  man  who  gets  things 
done." 

Northcliffe's  value  as  a  national  asset  to 
England  has  not  been  overlooked  by  the  Ger- 
mans. "  Strafe  Northcliffe ! "  has  long  been  the 
cry  of  the  subsidized  German  newspapers, 


50  NORTHCLIFFE 

some  of  which  have  declared  that  hanging  is 
too  good  for  Germany's  most  persistent 
enemy.  Since  the  war  began  he  has  been  a 
relentless  foe  of  German  propaganda,  and 
has  ceaselessly  called  attention  to  the  impor- 
tance of  fighting  this  subtle  influence  which 
the  Teutons  employ  to  misinform  neutrals 
and,  if  possible,  to  cause  dissension  among 
the  Allies. 

Realizing  that  while  Northcliffe  and  his 
newspapers  are  on  guard  a  powerful  influ- 
ence against  Germany  exists  in  England, 
the  Kaiser,  it  is  said,  has  actually  offered 
the  title  of  baron  and  the  iron  cross  to  any 
of  his  officers  who  succeeds  in  keeping  the 
eminent  newspaper  owner  quiet  for  all  time. 
That  some  efforts  have  been  made  to  earn 
this  reward  was  evidenced  some  months  ago 
when  Northcliffe's  country  house  on  the 
coast  of  Kent  was  bombed  by  aeroplanes 
and  shelled  by  a  destroyer.  On  the  latter 
occasion  the  famous  editor  narrowly  escaped 
with  his  life. 

The  achievements  of  this  man  of  destiny 
in  recent  years  form  a  suitable  climax  to  his 
past  career.  No  man  ever  had  a  more 
eventful  life;  none  has  had  a  greater  variety 


WHEN  ENGLAND  AWOKE       51 

of  experiences.  That  being  the  case,  it  fol- 
lows that  his  life  story  is  one  that  abounds 
with  lights  and  shades,  with  humor  and 
pathos.  Let  us  now  proceed  to  follow  that 
story  from  the  beginning  to  the  present 
day,  and  to  learn  from  it  how  Alfred 
Harmsworth,  an  obscure  writer,  became  a 
celebrity  with  the  title  of  Viscount  North- 
cliffe. 


II 

GENIUS  IN  TRAINING 

IT  is  an  interesting  fact  that  ancestry  has 
much  to  do  with  the  making  of  character, 
and  that  whatever  is  great  in  a  man  may 
be  the  result  of  certain  inherited  traits.  All 
that  is  needed  for  their  development  is  a 
suitable  environment  and  a  touch  of  inspi- 
ration. 

Buffon,  who  took  this  view,  has  defined 
genius  as  patience  which  requires  the  elec- 
tric spirit  to  arouse  it  into  power.  Those 
who  agree  with  the  theory  and  believe  that 
talent  is  hereditary,  will  find  that  Lord 
NorthclifiVs  parentage  affords  convincing 
proof  that  his  genius  was,  in  a  measure,  due 
to  happily  balanced  qualities  inherited  from 
his  father  and  mother.  He  is,  in  short,  that 
rare  and  perfect  mixture  of  Irish  and  Eng- 
lish which  successfully  combines  the  virtues 
of  the  two  divergent  races.  He  has  all  the 
vision,  humor,  initiative,  aggressiveness,  and 
electric  spirit  of  the  Celt,  tempered  with  the 

52 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         53 

patience,  bulldog  tenacity,  persistence,  cour- 
age, and  practicability  of  the  Anglo-Saxon. 

The  world-famous  journalist  was  born 
July  15,  1865,  at  Chapelizod,  County  Dub- 
lin, Ireland,  and  received  the  name  of  Al- 
fred Charles  William  Harmsworth.  His 
father,  Alfred  Harmsworth,  who  belonged 
to  a  branch  of  the  Harmsworth  family  long 
settled  in  Yorkshire,  was  a  barrister  of 
some  distinction.  In  London,  where  he 
practiced,  he  was  regarded  not  only  as  a 
brilliant  lawyer,  but  as  a  man  of  rare  judg- 
ment, quick  perception,  tact,  and  versatility. 
During  his  career  he  was  counsel  in  a  num- 
ber of  important  cases,  one  of  his  greatest 
legal  triumphs  having  been  achieved  in  con- 
nection with  a  celebrated  libel  action. 

The  destined  leader  of  the  British  press 
was  equally  fortunate  in  having  a  mother 
who  possessed  more  than  ordinary  attain- 
ments and  force  of  character.  Mrs.  Ger- 
aldine  Mary  Harmsworth  was  the  daughter 
of  William  Maff ett  of  County  Dublin,  and  a 
member  of  an  Irish  family  which  has  been 
distinguished  for  centuries.  Many  army 
officers  and  members  of  the  British  civil 
service  have  borne  the  name  of  Maffett. 


54  NORTHCLIFFE 

With  an  Irish  mother  and  an  Irish  birth- 
place, Great  Britain's  strong  man  is  usually 
regarded  as  more  Irish  than  English. 

Ireland,  it  has  heen  said,  is  a  good  coun- 
try to  he  horn  in,  but  a  good  country  to  get 
out  of,  although  at  times  it  may  be  a  good 
country  to  go  back  to.  However  this  may 
be,  the  fates  decreed  that  Alfred  Harms- 
worth,  the  future  genius,  should  be  brought 
up  in  England.  When  he  was  scarcely  a 
year  old,  his  father,  who  had  been  engaged 
in  some  important  Irish  litigation,  returned 
to  London  to  resume  his  ordinary  legal 
practice.  A  home  was  established  in  Hamp- 
stead,  a  well-known  suburb  of  north  Lon- 
don. There  the  other  members  of  the  family 
were  born,  three  daughters  and  six  sons. 

No  better  place  than  Hampstead  could 
have  been  found  in  which  to  rear  a  future 
editor  and  publisher.  It  is  a  quarter  of 
London  which  abounds  in  literary  associa- 
tions, having  been  frequented  for  two  cen- 
turies or  more  by  artists  and  men  of  let- 
ters. The  reader  who  is  familiar  with  the 
careers  of  English  novelists  will  recall  that 
Wilkie  Collins  was  a  resident  of  Hamp- 
stead, and  it  was  there  that  George  du 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         55 

Maurier  wrote  his  famous  story  "  Trilby." 
Rose  Cottage,  in  which  the  Harmsworths 
lived,  had  once  been  tenanted  by  Leigh 
Hunt,  the  poet  and  essayist,  friend  of  Keats 
and  Shelley,  Charles  Lamb  and  Lord 
Byron. 

As  they  grew  up,  the  Harmsworth  boys 
developed  into  stalwart,  athletic,  typically 
English  lads,  with  a  great  liking  for  cricket 
and  other  outdoor  sports.  Near  their  home 
was  Hampstead  Heath,  an  open  space  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  well  wooded, 
diversified  with  several  sheets  of  water,  and 
to  a  great  extent  left  in  its  natural  state. 
It  was  a  fine  playground,  and  also  a  suitable 
place  to  arouse  an  interest  in  the  picturesque 
life  of  the  past.  In  the  early  coaching  days 
the  Heath  was  the  haunt  of  such  celebrated 
highwaymen  as  Dick  Turpin,  Claude  Duval, 
and  Jack  Sheppard,  who  have  figured  in 
many  a  novel.  As  may  be  surmised,  such 
an  environment  was  well  calculated  to  stir 
a  youthful  imagination. 

At  an  early  age,  Alfred  Harmsworth  was 
sent  to  a  private  school  in  Hampstead. 
From  all  accounts  there  was  nothing  of  the 
model  boy  in  his  behavior  at  that  period, 


56 NORTHCLIFFE 

nor  anything  from  which  highly  moral  les- 
sons for  the  young  might  be  derived.  He  was 
not  particularly  studious;  he  seems  to  have 
heen  quite  as  mischievous  as  any  of  his  school- 
mates, and  to  have  gone  through  the  usual 
boyhood  experiences  of  playing  and  fighting, 
and  the  minimum  amount  of  studying.  Never- 
theless, those  who  knew  him  as  a  boy  assert 
that  he  was  usually  at  the  head  of  his  class, 
and  without  any  special  effort  on  his  part. 
He  did  not  excel  in  arithmetic,  but  seemed 
to  have  a  pronounced  aptitude  for  English 
composition,  history,  and  geography.  Out 
of  school  he  was  a  daring  lad,  full  of  high 
spirits,  and  much  addicted  to  practical  jok- 
ing. He  is  described  as  having  steel-grey, 
searching  eyes,  hair  of  the  peculiar  shade 
sometimes  termed  "  mouse  colored,"  a  fair 
complexion,  and  striking  features,  the  au- 
dacity which  lurked  within  being  concealed 
by  a  thoughtful  expression. 

According  to  his  schoolfellows,  Alfred 
Harmsworth  was  a  "  bear  "  for  asking  ques- 
tions of  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  people 
on  every  conceivable  subject.  He  was  for- 
ever investigating  the  whys  and  wherefores, 
soaking  up  information  as  a  sponge  soaks 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         57 

up  water;  later  in  life  he  astonished  people 
by  his  encyclopedic  knowledge  of  the  most 
out-of-the-way  subjects. 

It  was  at  this  interesting  period  that  the 
Harmsworth  family  left  Hampstead  and 
settled  in  St.  John's  Wood,  another  London 
suburb,  also  famous  as  a  literary  and  artistic 
center.  Here  the  boys  grew  up  and  re- 
ceived part  of  their  education,  three  of  them 
having  attended  the  Marylebone  Grammar 
School,  an  excellent  institution,  correspond- 
ing in  some  respects  to  an  American  high 
school. 

While  living  in  St.  John's  Wood  the  fu- 
ture celebrity  is  said  to  have  figured  as  the 
hero  of  a  romance.  The  story,  as  related 
by  an  old  resident  of  the  district,  is  as  fol- 
lows: The  Harmsworths  lived  in  a  detached 
house  with  a  large  garden,  on  one  side  of 
which  there  was  an  unoccupied  house,  while 
on  the  other  side  there  was  a  select  seminary 
for  girls  from  twelve  to  sixteen.  After 
school  hours  the  Harmsworth  boys  were 
continually  playing  cricket,  and  the  ball  was 
often  sent  flying  over  one  of  the  garden 
walls.  In  the  case  of  the  garden  of  the  un- 
tenanted  house  it  was  easy  enough  to  recover 


58  NORTHCLIFFE 

the  ball,  but  when  it  went  into  the  school 
garden  the  situation  was  different.  Naturally 
enough,  the  Harmsworth  boys  were  a  thorn 
in  the  side  of  the  prim  old  maid  who  con- 
ducted the  seminary.  If  she  took  her  young 
charges  out  for  a  walk,  going  or  coming 
they  were  sure  to  meet  the  attractive  Al- 
fred or  his  younger  brother,  the  burly 
Harold,  and  discipline  was  much  upset.  If 
two  or  three  young  ladies  retired  to  a  se- 
cluded corner  of  the  garden  for  a  ladylike 
game  of  croquet,  before  long  the  wretched 
cricket  ball  would  make  its  appearance, 
causing  them  to  flee  in  terror. 

The  irate  school  principal  sent  many 
sharp  notes  on  the  subject  to  Mr.  Harms- 
worth,  who  remonstrated  with  his  boys 
without  effect,  and  sometimes  even  took  a 
hand  in  the  game  himself.  Mrs.  Harms- 
worth,  like  a  good  mother,  was  even  more 
lenient.  She  wanted  the  boys  to  have  not 
only  the  back  garden  to  play  in,  but  the 
whole  world.  Napoleon,  she  argued,  had 
made  the  world  his  playground;  why  should 
not  Alfred  do  the  same?  Even  in  those 
early  days  she  perceived  her  son's  capabili- 
ties and  placed  no  limitations  on  the  possi- 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         59 

bilities  of  his  career.  She  sent  polite  notes 
to  the  school  principal,  but  made  no  guar- 
antees that  the  cricket  should  be  stopped. 

In  these  circumstances,  the  principal  or- 
dered the  offending  ball  to  be  confiscated 
the  next  time  that  it  made  its  appearance. 
It  is  said  that  when  the  ball  was  again  sent 
flying  over  the  wall,  a  graceful  little  girl 
of  thirteen,  with  large,  dark  eyes,  took  pos- 
session of  it.  Harold  was  sent  over  to  nego- 
tiate, for  its  recovery  and  demanded  the 
ball  in  rather  a  peremptory  English  man- 
ner. The  little  girl  refused  to  give  it  up. 
Alfred  made  the  next  attempt,  and  by  em- 
ploying a  skillful  combination  of  tact  and 
Irish  blarney  he  not  only  succeeded  in  get- 
ting the  ball,  but  made  an  ally  of  the  little 
girl,  who  promised  that  thereafter  she  would 
throw  it  back  herself.  Tradition  says  that 
six  years  later  the  little  girl  with  the  dark 
eyes  became  Mrs.  Alfred  Harmsworth. 

Some  good  Irish  fairy  must  surely  have 
substituted  ink  for  water  at  the  baptism  of 
Alfred  Harmsworth.  His  ambition  to  be- 
come a  writer  and  publisher  was  clearly 
shown  at  the  grammar  school  at  Stamford, 
Lincolnshire,  to  which  he  was  eventually 


60  NORTHCLIFFE 

sent.  While  there  he  started  a  printed 
magazine  that  dealt  with  happenings  of  in- 
terest to  the  boys  and  their  teachers.  It 
was  brightly  written  and  remarkably  well 
edited.  Even  then,  although  he  was  only 
fifteen  years  old,  the  youthful  genius  dis- 
played the  courage  and  optimism  which  have 
been  his  guiding  stars  through  life.  The 
first  number  of  his  magazine  contained  the 
naive  announcement:  "  I  have  it  on  the  best 
authority  that  this  paper  is  to  be  a  marked 
success."  Thus  early  in  life  the  boy  pub- 
lisher discovered  for  himself  the  blessed 
uses  of  advertisement  and  foreshadowed  the 
policy  that  eventually  made  the  name  of 
Harmsworth  a  household  word  in  England. 
In  the  second  number  he  published  this :  "  I 
am  glad  to  say  that  my  prediction  as  to  the 
success  of  my  magazine  has  proved  correct." 
This  attraction  to  journalism,  however, 
was  not  at  all  to  the  liking  of  Mr.  Harms- 
worth,  who  wanted  Alfred  to  become  a 
lawyer.  He  decided  to  put  a  check  on  his 
youthful  ambitions,  and  to  this  end  arranged 
for  a  practical  object  lesson,  calculated  to 
work  a  cure  by  showing  the  dark  side  of 
newspaper  life.  A  friend  of  the  family  was 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         61 

induced  to  take  the  aspiring  youth  to  the 
offices  of  a  London  evening  newspaper,  one 
afternoon,  to  see  the  first  edition  printed. 
On  the  way  this  friend,  who  was  himself  in 
the  newspaper  business,  dilated  on  the  hor- 
rors, perils,  temptations,  evils,  and  poor 
earnings  of  newspaper  folk. 

Gloomy  and  depressing,  this  description 
of  a  journalist's  life  was  a  fitting  introduc- 
tion to  the  offices  of  the  newspaper,  which 
were  in  an  old,  dilapidated  building  that 
reeked  with  the  combined  odors  of  well- 
oiled  machinery  and  newly  printed  paper. 
But  the  sight  of  the  busy  reporters  and 
copy  readers,  the  copy  boys,  running  hither 
and  thither,  the  mysterious  offices  of  the  edi- 
tors, and  the  roar  of  the  whirring  presses, 
fairly  entranced  young  Harmsworth.  "  Why, 
this  is  ripping! "  he  exclaimed  enthusias- 
tically, and  added,  "  I  should  just  like  to 
work  here."  The  next  moment  he  was  in- 
terviewing a  printer's  devil  and  discovering 
how  the  ink-smudged  boy  earned  his  living, 
afterwards  picking  up  some  information 
from  a  pressman  as  to  how  many  copies  an 
hour  the  big  press  could  turn  out.  Before 
he  left  the  place  he  had  become  infected 


62  NORTHCLIFFE 

with  that  subtle  atmosphere  of  a  printing 
plant  which  appeals  to  every  born  news- 
paperman and,  once  felt,  is  never  over- 
come. From  that  moment  Alfred  Harms- 
worth  resolved  to  make  his  way  in  the  world 
as  writer,  editor,  and  newspaper  owner. 

It  was  in  vain  that  his  father  took  him 
to  the  law  courts  to  witness  the  trial  of  some 
important  cases,  in  the  hope  of  curing  his 
newspaper  obsession.  The  dignified  judges 
and  counsel  in  their  wigs  and  gowns  ap- 
pealed to  the  youth  from  a  picturesque  point 
of  view,  and  he  could  see  the  possibilities 
of  some  good  "  magazine  copy,"  but  noth- 
ing could  induce  him  to  begin  the  study  of 
"  Blackstone's  Commentaries  "  and  "  Chitty 
on  Pleadings."  When  his  father  presented 
him  with  the  two  volumes  nicely  bound  in 
calf,  Alfred's  publisher-like  comment  was: 
"  They've  got  jolly  fine  covers."  History, 
however,  does  not  record  that  he  ever  looked 
into  their  pages. 

So  strong  was  his  determination  not  to 
follow  the  law  that  at  last  parental  objec- 
tions were  overcome,  and  on  leaving  school 
he  was  allowed  to  try  his  hand  at  writing. 
In  1881  young  Harmsworth,  then  sixteen 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         63 

years  old,  was  introduced  to  a  shrewd  old 
Scotchman,  James  Henderson  of  Red  Lion 
House,  Fleet  Street,  London,  a  man  of  no 
great  literary  capacity  but  of  much  percep- 
tion. Among  a  number  of  weekly  papers 
that  he  published  was  one  called  the  Young 
Folks'  Budget.  As  Alfred  had  edited  a 
printed  school  journal,  there  were  no  mys- 
teries of  type  or  proof  for  him,  and  he  could 
write  interestingly.  Much  impressed  by  his 
ability,  Henderson  engaged  the  youthful 
aspirant  to  write  short  stories  and  articles 
for  the  Budget.  His  contributions  soon 
made  a  hit,  and  what  is  more,  they  attracted 
the  attention  of  Sir  William  Ingram,  owner 
of  the  Illustrated  London  News,  who  pub- 
lished a  boys'  paper  called  Youth.  He  in- 
vited the  young  writer  to  send  stories  to 
that  periodical,  and  Alfred  was  thus  kept 
busy  writing  for  Henderson  and  Ingram. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  future  pub- 
lisher first  made  the  acquaintance  of  writing 
folk,  some  of  whom  afterwards  became  fa- 
mous in  the  literary  world.  Several  writers 
whom  he  met  were  visitors  at  Red  Lion 
House,  where  Henderson  served  a  luncheon 
at  one  o'clock  every  day,  to  which  members 


64  NORTHCLIFFE 

of  the  staff  and  outside  contributors  were 
invited. 

On  one  of  these  occasions  Henderson 
introduced  the  youthful  Harmsworth  to 
another  guest,  a  rather  eccentric-looking 
young  man,  with  a  pale,  oval  face  and  won- 
derful eyes.  Although  the  visitor  wore  a 
velvet  coat,  usually  regarded  as  a  sign  of 
affectation,  his  manner  was  friendly  and 
unassuming.  After  the  introduction,  while 
Alfred  was  trying  to  make  up  his  mind  as 
to  what  sort  of  man  the  wearer  of  the  vel- 
vet coat  might  be,  Henderson  remarked  ad- 
miringly, in  an  undertone,  "  Yon  body  can 
write."  The  "  body "  was  Robert  Louis 
Stevenson.  It  was  Henderson,  by  the  way, 
who  suggested  for  Stevenson's  great  story 
the  title  "  Treasure  Island,"  used  by  the 
author  in  place  of  "  The  Sea  Cook,"  which 
he  had  originally  selected. 

A  year  after  Alfred  entered  the  writing 
business,  Sir  William  Ingram,  impressed  by 
his  energy,  industry,  and  versatility,  en- 
gaged him  as  assistant  editor  of  Youth  at 
a  salary  of  twenty-five  dollars  a  week.  It 
was  in  this  way  that  he  gained  his  first 
practical  lessons  in  journalism. 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         65 

While  holding  this  position  the  youthful 
sub-editor  was  suddenly  called  upon  to  help 
his  mother,  who  was  left  in  rather  strait- 
ened circumstances  by  the  death  of  his 
father.  There  was  a  large  family  to  pro- 
vide for,  and  the  younger  children  had  to 
be  reared  and  educated.  The  older  boys 
were  therefore  obliged  to  give  their  assist- 
ance; two  of  them  obtained  employment  in 
government  offices.  Young  as  he  was,  Al- 
fred took  the  lead  in  directing  the  family 
affairs. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen,  young  Harms- 
worth,  eager  to  see  more  of  the  world,  left 
home  and  shared  a  room  with  another  youth 
who  lived  in  Batter  sea,  one  of  the  working- 
class  quarters  of  London.  His  experiences 
at  this  formative  period  were  of  great  value 
in  after  years.  A  close  observer,  he  began 
to  find  out  what  sort  of  reading  matter  was 
needed  by  the  people  among  whom  he  lived. 
He  soon  discovered  that  their  demands  were 
not  being  met  by  the  publishers  of  that 
time. 

Those  were  the  early  days  of  the  wood- 
pulp  industry,  which  enabled  paper  to  be 
produced  at  a  remarkably  low  cost.  Photo- 


66  NORTHCLIFFE 

engraving  had  also  been  introduced,  and 
this  cheaper  process  was  supplanting  hand 
work  to  a  great  extent.  The  observant 
Harmsworth,  who  was  well  informed  on 
these  subjects,  was  quick  to  perceive  that 
cheap  paper  and  cheap  illustrations  would 
mean  a  new  era  of  cheap  periodicals  in 
which  large  fortunes  would  be  made,  and 
he  foresaw  that  he  might  make  a  fortune 
himself. 

The  youthful  editor's  appetite  for  any- 
thing novel  in  the  shape  of  literature  was 
then  insatiable.  At  the  Illustrated  London 
News  office  he  could  see  papers  from  all 
parts  of  the  world;  nothing  worth  noticing 
escaped  his  attention.  He  devoted  his 
evenings  to  studying  the  publications  of 
various  English  towns  and  cities,  to  reading 
the  magazines  of  continental  Europe,  and 
especially  to  watching  the  development  of 
publications  in  America,  ever  the  leader  in 
the  publishing  industry.  The  more  he 
worked  and  studied  the  more  he  became  con- 
vinced that  England,  as  far  as  journalism 
was  concerned,  was  much  behind  the  times. 
In  other  words,  the  English  people  were 
getting  not  only  what  they  did  not  want, 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         67 

but  what  they  had  to  take  because  there 
was  nothing  else. 

English  journalism  in  1883  was  of  the 
same  dull,  lifeless,  old-fashioned  type  that 
had  existed  in  England  in  the  'fifties,  but  the 
English  people  had  moved  far  ahead.  Not 
only  had  the  educated  classes  increased  enor- 
mously, but  a  sort  of  public  school  system 
had  been  established  throughout  the  United 
Kingdom.  For  years  the  public  schools,  at- 
tended by  the  children  of  the  lower  middle 
class  and  the  working  people,  had  been 
turning  out  bright  boys  and  girls  with  eager, 
receptive  minds.  They  were  developing  an 
appetite  for  something  new  in  the  shape  of 
reading  matter. 

In  spite  of  this,  most  of  the  English  news- 
papers were  edited  for  what  might  be  termed 
the  "  high-brow "  classes  and  were  not  in- 
teresting to  the  masses.  The  periodicals 
were  in  much  the  same  position.  With  few 
exceptions  the  monthly  magazines  were  old- 
fashioned  in  appearance  and  contents,  most 
of  them  appealing  to  only  the  high  literary 
classes.  The  cheap  weeklies,  such  as  story 
papers  and  humorous  sheets,  were  far  be- 
hind the  times,  and  for  that  reason  had  com- 


68 NQRTHCLIFFE 

paratively  small  circulations.  In  the  matter 
of  popular  reading  matter  the  requirements 
of  the  great  mass  of  the  English  people,  as 
Alfred  Harmsworth  perceived,  were  ig- 
nored. 

With  a  desire  to  get  a  still  wider  expe- 
rience, as  well  as  a  chance  to  earn  more 
money,  the  restless  genius  left  the  Ingram 
firm  at  this  stage  of  his  career  and  found 
work  elsewhere.  After  filling  some  minor 
editorial  positions,  he  obtained  employment 
as  private  secretary  to  a  wealthy  business 
man,  with  whom  he  traveled  extensively  on 
the  Continent,  and  thus  gained  some  valu- 
able knowledge  of  foreign  conditions.  Later 
on  he  joined  the  editorial  staff  of  Iliffe  & 
Sons  in  the  old  city  of  Coventry. 

At  that  time  Coventry  was  the  center  of 
the  English  cycle  trade,  and  Iliffe  &  Sons' 
business  was  mainly  connected  with  that  in- 
dustry. Besides  printing  nearly  all  the 
catalogues  and  other  advertising  matter  for 
the  bicycle  manufacturers  in  Coventry,  the 
firm  published  the  Cyclist  and  Bicycling 
News,  both  weeklies,  and  the  Cyclist  Touring 
Gazette,  a  monthly  magazine  and  organ  of 
the  Cyclist  Touring  Club,  an  international 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         69 

organization.  At  that  time  the  big-wheel 
bicycles  were  in  use;  the  modern  "  safeties  " 
had  not  been  invented. 

Thorough  in  everything  that  he  under- 
took, Alfred  Harmsworth  not  only  became 
an  expert  bicycle  rider,  but  also  familiarized 
himself  with  bicycle  construction.  Having 
read  everything  on  the  subject  that  he  could 
find,  he  visited  the  factories  and  saw  bicycles 
made.  This  gave  him  a  wide  knowledge 
of  the  cycle  industry.  Incidentally  he 
formed  an  extensive  acquaintance  among 
professional  bicyclists.  With  this  training 
he  was  not  only  able  to  discuss  bicycling 
matters  from  the  standpoint  of  an  expert, 
but  he  scored  many  a  "  beat "  for  Bicycling 
News,  the  paper  which  he  edited,  and  in- 
creased its  circulation. 

While  thus  employed  he  did  a  good  deal 
of  free-lance  work,  contributing  articles  on 
sport  and  other  topics  to  newspapers  and 
magazines.  He  also  became  a  writer  for 
Tid-Bits.  This  paper,  it  should  be  ex- 
plained, was  really  the  pioneer  of  modern 
English  popular  journalism.  The  way  in 
which  it  came  into  existence  forms  an  inter- 
esting story. 


70  NORTHCLIFFE 

In  the  early  'eighties  a  Manchester  man 
named  George  Newnes  made  clippings  from 
newspapers  and  magazines — short  stories, 
jokes,  and  other  things — which  he  pasted  in 
scrapbooks.  A  large  part  of  his  collection 
was  clipped  from  American  Sunday  news- 
papers. He  was  the  proprietor  of  an  eating 
house  largely  patronized  by  cab  drivers. 
The  scrapbooks  were  put  on  the  tables,  to 
entertain  customers,  and  they  proved  to  be 
immensely  popular. 

Newnes  was  not  slow  to  notice  that  his 
clippings  had  made  a  great  hit,  and  this 
gave  him  the  idea  of  starting  a  weekly 
paper  composed  of  similar  scraps.  In  1884 
he  published  the  paper,  which  he  called 
Tid-Bits.  To  push  its  sale,  he  tried  various 
guessing  competitions  and  awarded  liberal 
prizes.  The  paper  also  carried  a  standing 
notice  that  a  thousand  pounds  '($5000) 
would  be  paid  to  the  heirs  of  any  reader 
who  happened  to  be  killed  in  a  railway  acci- 
dent, providing  that  the  victim  had  a  copy 
of  the  current  issue  in  his  possession. 

At  first  Tid-Bits  was  published  in  Man- 
chester, but  it  proved  so  successful  that 
Newnes  soon  moved  to  London.  The  enter- 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         71 

prising  publisher  had  a  knack  of  getting 
clever  young  men  to  write  for  his  paper, 
for  he  eventually  abandoned  the  idea  of 
having  it  made  up  entirely  of  clippings  and, 
instead,  printed  original  matter  such  as 
bright,  snappy  articles,  and  stories  of  a 
column  or  more.  He  was  quick  to  notice 
the  genius  and  versatility  of  young  Harms- 
worth,  who  became  a  regular  contributor  of 
articles,  always  gladly  accepted,  which  made 
an  instantaneous  hit. 

In  course  of  time  Newnes  started  other 
weekly  and  monthly  periodicals,  including 
the  Strand  Magazine,  the  circulation  of 
which  reached  over  a  quarter  of  a  million 
in  1888,  owing  to  the  publication  of  the 
Conan  Doyle  detective  stories,  in  which 
Sherlock  Holmes,  the  scientific  unraveler  of 
mysterious  crimes,  figured  so  prominently. 
Later  on  the  business  was  organized  as  a 
stock  company,  Newnes  became  a  baronet, 
and  when  he  died  in  1910,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-nine,  he  was  a  millionaire,  the  pioneer 
fortune  maker  in  this  new  field  of  literature. 

Young  Harmsworth's  work  as  a  free-lance 
proved  so  remunerative  that  eventually  he 
resigned  the  editorship  of  Bicycling  News 


72  NORTHCLIFFE 

and  returned  to  London,  to  be  nearer  the 
publishers.  In  those  early  days  he  lived  at 
Hampstead  with  Max  Pemberton,  the  nov- 
elist, who  had  recently  left  college  and  had 
married  a  member  of  the  Tussaud  family, 
proprietors  of  the  well-known  London  wax- 
works exhibition.  Max  was  free-lancing 
himself  at  that  time,  and  the  two  young 
men  often  walked  to  Fleet  Street  together 
to  sell  their  articles  and  stories. 

In  1887,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  Alfred 
Harmsworth  entered  into  partnership  with' 
an  Irish  journalist  named  Carr,  and  a  busi- 
ness was  started  under  the  firm  title  of  Carr 
&  Co.  The  young  men  arranged  to  pub- 
lish an  English  edition  of  Outing^  the 
American  sporting  magazine;  they  also  pub- 
lished an  educational  paper  of  small  circu- 
lation, the  Private  Schoolmaster,  and  a 
weekly  cycling  paper.  They  had  taken  two 
small  offices  in  an  old-fashioned  three-story 
building  in  Paternoster  Square,  the  center 
of  the  London  book-publishing  district. 

To  add  to  his  income,  the  industrious 
Harmsworth  continued  his  free-lance  work, 
including  his  contributions  to  Tid-Bits.  He 
was  greatly  interested  in  the  progress  of 


Alfred  Harmsworth,  1891 

The  youthful  publisher  at  Elmwood 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         73 

that  publication,  which  in  many  ways  em- 
bodied ideas  that  had  been  latent  in  his  own 
mind  about  papers  for  the  masses.  Newnes' 
success,  in  fact,  had  stimulated  his  own  am- 
bition. What  Newnes  had  accomplished  he 
believed  that  he  could  accomplish  himself, 
and  he  resolved  to  start  a  paper  of  his  own, 
an  undertaking  for  which  he  was  thoroughly 
well  equipped. 

It  was  at  this  interesting  stage  that  an 
American  newspaperman  had  the  good  for- 
tune to  become  acquainted  with  the  youth- 
ful writer  and  publisher  and  to  gather  some 
impressions  which  are  now  recorded  for  the 
first  time.  They  are  of  peculiar  interest, 
because  they  give  an  accurate  pen  picture 
of  Lord  Northcliffe  in  the  days  when,  as 
Alfred  Harmsworth,  he  was  preparing  to 
launch  his  first  weekly  publication.  Since 
he  became  famous,  the  great  journalist  has 
figured  prominently  in  newspaper  and  maga- 
zine articles,  and  some  of  the  misstatements 
concerning  his  early  life,  which  have  been 
made  by  highly  imaginative  writers,  must 
certainly  have  astonished  him,  if  brought  to 
his  attention.  Therefore,  the  following 
story,  compiled  from  notes  that  were  made 


74  NORTHCLIFFE 

over  twenty  years  ago,  form  a  notable  addi- 
tion to  this  chapter. 

To  those  who  look  backward,  London  in 
the  'eighties  of  the  last  century  seems  to 
have  been  rather  a  depressing,  unprogres- 
sive  city.  Electric  lighting  was  not  general, 
modern  hotels  had  only  just  been  started, 
and  the  various  improvements  that  have 
transformed  the  English  metropolis  were 
then  unknown.  Although  it  is  only  thirty 
years  ago,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  London 
without  modern  buildings,  elevators,  auto- 
mobiles, taxis,  motor  busses,  rapid-transit 
subways,  electric  traction,  moving-picture 
theatres,  telephones,  gramophones,  and  suf- 
fragettes. Even  the  London  fogs  of  the 
"  pea  soup "  variety  seemed  to  be  darker, 
thicker,  and  more  sulphurous  than  they  are 
to-day. 

It  was  on  one  of  those  depressing,  foggy 
days  in  February,  1888,  that  I  first  met 
Alfred  Harmsworth.  Although  a  mere 
youth  at  the  time,  I  had  gone  from  New 
York  to  London  as  the  representative  of 
some  trade  journals,  with  the  object  of 
sending  them  news  and  special  articles.  Like 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         75 

Harmsworth,  I  had  worked  my  way  upward 
as  cub  reporter  and  editorial  assistant  and 
had  set  out  to  see  the  world. 

Some  weeks  after  my  arrival  in  London, 
the  manager  of  a  typewriter  company,  with 
whom  I  had  become  acquainted,  suggested 
that  I  might  increase  my  slender  income  by 
writing  articles  on  American  topics  for  some 
of  the  English  weeklies.  Forthwith  he  gave 
me  a  letter  of  introduction  addressed  to 
"  Mr.  Alfred  Harmsworth,"  who,  he  as- 
sured me,  was  the  English  equivalent  of  an 
American  "  live  wire."  "  What  Harms- 
worth  doesn't  know  about  the  writing  busi- 
ness isn't  worth  knowing,"  remarked  the 
typewriter  man.  "  He  can  tell  you  what 
to  do." 

With  the  letter  in  my  pocket,  I  groped 
my  way  through  the  fog  to  the  office  of 
Carr  &  Co.  in  Paternoster  Square.  Mount- 
ing one  flight  of  stairs  in  an  old  building,  I 
entered  a  diminutive  office,  where  I  handed 
my  letter  to  the  sole  occupant,  a  handsome, 
tall,  broad-shouldered,  smooth-faced  young 
man  with  "  mouse-colored  "  hah*  combed  in 
a  long  lock  over  the  right  side  of  his  fore- 
head. He  wore  a  suit  of  light-grey  Eng- 


76  NORTHCLIFFE 

lish  tweed,  made  extremely  loose  after  the 
fashion  of  the  time.  Somehow  he  reminded 
me  of  portraits  of  Napoleon  in  early  youth 
— striking,  keen-eyed,  and  evidently  full  of 
enthusiasm.  When  I  inquired  for  Mr. 
Harmsworth,  he  admitted  that  he  was  the 
man  for  whom  I  was  looking. 

On  reading  the  letter  of  introduction  and 
learning  that  I  had  recently  come  from 
New  York,  he  gave  me  a  hearty  shake  of 
the  hand  and  told  me  to  take  a  seat  by  the 
fireside.  There  was  an  open-grate  fire  in 
the  office,  and  the  warmth  was  acceptable 
after  a  walk  through  the  cold,  penetrating 
fog.  Harmsworth  seemed  to  radiate  cheer- 
fulness. When  I  mentioned  the  weather,  he 
remarked  humorously,  "  Why,  this  is  only 
a  mild  specimen.  Wait  till  you  see  one  of 
our  black  fogs;  that's  where  we  hold  the 
world's  championship." 

Then  we  settled  down  to  talk.  Without 
any  ceremony,  he  asked  me  what  had 
brought  me  to  London,  what  papers  I  was 
representing,  what  the  publishers  paid  me, 
and  how  much  they  made  themselves.  "  What 
sort  of  pay  do  their  editors  get? "  he  asked. 
When  I  told  him  that  some  of  the  editors 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         77 

were  paid  five  thousand  dollars  a  year, 
which  was  considered  a  good  salary  in  New 
York,  he  remarked:  "  Some  of  our  head 
clerks  over  here  get  more  than  that.  A 
thousand  pounds  ($5000)  a  year  is  not  a 
great  salary."  He  added:  "From  what  I 
have  heard,  I  am  convinced  there  are  better 
chances  to  make  money  in  England  than  in 
America.  We  have  the  money  here,  more 
of  it  than  America  has,  and  if  a  man  has 
brains  enough  he  can  get  his  share  of  it.  I 
have  never  had  any  inclination  to  emigrate. 
In  fact,  I  believe  with  Tennyson  that  if  you 
would  have  money  you  must  go  where 
money  is.  When  we  have  plenty  of  it  here, 
what's  the  use  of  running  away  from  it? " 
After  we  had  talked  for  a  while,  I  could 
see  plainly  that  although  Harmsworth  had 
an  English  accent  and  appearance,  his  tem- 
perament was  decidedly  American.  He  had 
none  of  the  reserve  of  the  average  English- 
man, but  was  ready  to  talk  with  any  man 
who  had  anything  worth  saying.  He  fired 
a  volley  of  questions  at  me  regarding  myself 
and  what  my  experience  had  been,  asked 
how  much  I  earned  and  how  much  I  wanted 
to  earn,  and  what  I  expected  to  do  with 


78  NORTHCLIFFE 

myself.  Sometimes,  during  our  conversa- 
tion, I  dropped  a  remark  that  attracted  his 
attention  to  a  marked  degree.  "  That's  a 
good  idea  for  an  article,"  he  would  observe 
as  he  made  notes  on  a  pad,  or  "  That's 
something  we  ought  to  adopt  over  here." 

We  discussed  the  American  newspapers 
and  magazines,  their  circulation  and  rates 
of  payment  to  writers.  "  How  do  you  think 
English  magazines  compare  with  Ameri- 
can? "  he  asked,  and  without  waiting  for  a 
reply,  he  added,  "  Very  badly,  of  course." 
Then  he  proceeded,  "  Have  you  seen  Tid- 
Bits?  "  I  said  that  I  had.  "  Is  there  any 
paper  like  that  in  the  United  States?"  he 
inquired.  I  told  him  there  was  not,  because 
the  Sunday  newspapers  published  articles, 
stories,  and  jokes  such  as  appeared  in  Tid- 
Bits.  '  That's  true,"  observed  Harms  worth. 
"  Our  papers  have  been  deadly  dull,  but 
the  English  people  are  demanding  some- 
thing better  and  they  will  have  to  get  it 
before  long." 

Our  conversation  took  place  in  the  larger 
of  the  two  offices,  but  even  there  space  was 
limited,  and  one  had  to  dodge  piles  of  Out- 
ings and  Private  Schoolmasters  in  moving 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         79 

about.  I  happened  to  stumble  over  a  stack 
of  cycling  papers.  "  I  know  it's  a  bad 
paper,"  remarked  Harmsworth  ironically, 
"  but  you  needn't  kick  it  so  viciously."  In 
one  corner  of  the  room  there  was  a  Reming- 
ton typewriter.  "  You  see,"  he  observed, 
"  we  can't  get  along  without  American  in- 
ventions. We  also  have  a  mimeograph  for 
duplicating,  and  if  our  people  were  suffi- 
ciently advanced  we  might  have  a  tele- 
phone." In  those  days  telephones  were  com- 
paratively scarce  in  London,  and  were  sel- 
dom seen  excepting  in  large  business  estab- 
lishments. 

We  talked  about  papers  and  circulations, 
free-lancing  and  schemes  for  money  making, 
for  over  an  hour,  and  at  last  I  rose  to  go, 
fearing  to  outstay  my  welcome,  but  Harms- 
worth  stopped  me.  '  You  can't  escape  just 
yet,"  he  exclaimed.  "  I've  got  to  pump 
some  more  out  of  you."  Then  he  invited 
me  to  lunch,  telling  me  that  he  had  his  mid- 
day meal  brought  in  from  a  restaurant  a 
few  doors  away.  We  lunched  together  in 
a  little  private  office,  a  third  as  big  as  the 
outer  office,  our  talk  going  on  meanwhile. 
Harmsworth  was  extremely  frank.  He  told 


80  NORTHCLIFFE 

me  that  he  was  making  about  $2500  a  year 
from  his  interest  in  the  business  and  his 
free-lance  work.  In  addition  to  Carr,  a  bar- 
rister named  Markwick  had  an  interest  in 
the  publishing  enterprise. 

For  an  Englishman  who  had  never  been 
in  the  United  States  I  found  Harmsworth 
to  be  remarkably  well  informed.  He  had 
gathered  a  mass  of  ideas  about  the  United 
States  from  Americans  whom  he  had  met 
and  also  from  his  extensive  reading,  and 
while  some  of  his  notions  were  remarkably 
accurate,  others  were  just  as  erroneous, 
which  of  course  is  not  surprising.  He 
thought,  for  example,  that  New  York  at 
that  time  was  far  behind  London  in  many 
ways,  although  he  admitted  that  in  the  mat- 
ter of  telephones  and  other  labor-saving  de- 
vices, as  well  as  modern  office  buildings, 
New  York  might  be  ahead.  From  a  social 
point  of  view,  however,  he  imagined  New 
York  in  1888  to  be  at  about  the  same  stage 
of  development  as  London  had  been  in 
1850 — a  dull,  depressing  sort  of  place. 
From  what  he  said,  he  evidently  considered 
American  men,  as  a  rule,  to  be  far  behind 
Englishmen  in  the  matter  of  general  educa- 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         81 

tion,  while  American  women,  he  thought, 
were  superior  in  this  respect  to  the  average 
Englishwomen. 

American  newspapers  and  magazines, 
Harmsworth  admitted,  were  wonderful,  and 
were  far  ahead  of  anything  that  Europe 
had  ever  produced.  He  asked  me  about 
American  boys'  papers  and  their  circula- 
tions. I  mentioned  the  Munro  papers, 
the  Fireside  Companion  and  Family  Story 
Paper;  the  Street  &  Smith  publications; 
Frank  Tousey's  Boys  of  New  York;  and 
Frank  Munsey's  Golden  Argosy.  He  had 
seen  some  of  these,  and  was  anxious  for  in- 
formation about  their  circulation  and  profits. 
Even  after  lunch  I  was  not  allowed  to 
escape,  for  as  he  was  going  out,  he  asked  me 
to  take  a  walk  with  him,  and  we  strolled 
along  for  about  half  an  hour  discussing  the 
subjects  uppermost  in  his  mind — news- 
papers and  magazines. 

Some  days  later  I  happened  to  call  at  the 
office  again,  and  was  introduced  by  Harms- 
worth  to  his  partner,  Carr,  a  genial  Irish- 
man, who  had  just  a  trace  of  a  cultivated 
Irish  accent.  I  also  met  Markwick,  the 
barrister,  who  was  what  might  be  termed  an 


82  NORTHCLIFFE 

outside  partner.  On  this  occasion,  Harms- 
worth,  who  had  already  told  me  about  his 
work  for  Tid-Bits,  mentioned  that  he  had 
written  a  small  book  on  English  railways 
for  Newnes,  which  was  sold  for  a  shilling. 
"  I  am  now  writing  another  book,"  he 
added,  "  and  I  should  like  to  have  you  come 
in  every  day  and  give  me  a  hand  with  it. 
The  book  will  be  called,  *  A  Thousand  Ways 
to  Earn  a  Living,'  and  as  you  have  been 
in  a  good  many  lines  in  the  United  States, 
and  have  kept  your  eyes  open,  you  can  un- 
doubtedly tell  me  a  few  things  that  I  don't 
know.  What  do  you  say? "  I  replied  that 
I  would  accept  his  offer. 

The  next  day  we  met  at  the  office  and 
went  to  work  on  the  book.  I  operated  the 
typewriter  and  made  suggestions,  while 
Harmsworth  planned  and  dictated.  I  found 
him  to  be  a  wonderfully  fluent  and  ready 
writer,  quick  in  perception  and  remarkably 
witty,  always  seeing  the  humorous  side  of 
things  and  the  bright  side  as  well.  In  fact, 
he  was  a  pronounced  optimist.  As  we 
worked  together,  however,  I  could  see  that 
in  many  ways  his  mind  had  a  decidedly 
practical  bent,  and  that  beneath  his  out- 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         83 

ward  gaiety  there  was  a  solid  substratum 
of  keen  business  shrewdness  and  editorial 
ability. 

The  little  book  which  we  produced  was 
eventually  published  in  Newnes'  Popular 
Shilling  Series.  It  was  full  of  information 
about  various  trades  and  professions,  alpha- 
betically arranged  from  "  Accounting  "  to 
'  Yacht  Building."  It  told  the  reader  how 
to  enter  these  callings,  the  salaries  received, 
and  the  general  prospects.  Here  is  what 
young  Harmsworth  had  to  say  about  jour- 
nalism : 

"  It  is  impossible  to  hide  successful  newspaper 
work  under  a  bushel.  Rival  newspaper  proprietors 
are  ever  on  the  lookout  for  smart  men,  and  are  loath 
to  lose  a  valuable  assistant,  for  it  is  a  well-known 
fact  in  the  newspaper  world  that  the  majority  of 
new  ventures  are  promoted  by  newspapermen  who 
have  been  underpaid  or  harshly  dealt  with  by  their 
employers.  A  good  man  has  therefore  excellent 
prospects  of  advancement." 

In  the  course  of  our  talks  at  this  time, 
Harmsworth  confided  to  me  that  he  in- 
tended to  start  a  weekly  paper  to  be  called 
Answers  to  Correspondents.  He  explained 


84  NORTHCLIFFE 

that  it  would  be  full  of  interesting  questions 
and  equally  interesting  replies.  "  If  the 
paper  pays,"  he  explained,  "  and  I  know  it 
will,  I  shall  rent  several  rooms  in  some 
building,  and  will  have  experts  there  to 
answer  questions.  On  payment  of  a  shilling, 
anybody  will  be  entitled  to  ask  a  question 
and  get  a  reply.  I  believe  that  such  a  place 
would  be  packed  all  day  with  people  in  need 
of  information.  What  do  you  think  of 
these  ideas?"  he  asked. 

I  replied  that  I  was  unable  to  pass  judg- 
ment on  the  idea  of  a  question  bureau,  but 
as  to  the  paper  I  did  not  think  it  would 
succeed.  I  pointed  out  that  there  already 
existed  in  London  a  weekly  paper,  which 
was  made  up  entirely  of  questions  and 
answers,  but  it  had  only  a  small  circulation. 
'  Yes,"  he  answered,  "  that  is  true,  but  it's 
a  dull  publication,  consisting  of  fossilized 
information  for  the  benefit  of  old  fossils. 
My  paper  will  be  a  live  weekly  like  one  of 
the  American  papers.  I  have  noticed  that 
the  questions  sent  to  Tid-Bits  are  always 
interesting,  and  people  like  to  read  the 
answers.  I  won't  publish  dull  questions  or 
answers,  and  if  our  supply  of  questions  runs 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         85 

short  I'll  manufacture  them  myself."  I  re- 
marked that  in  England,  as  well  as  in 
America,  many  newspapers  had  questions 
and  answers  columns  which  were  hardly 
noticed  by  readers  excepting  those  who  had 
put  the  questions.  He  insisted,  however, 
that  the  reason  was  that  the  questions  and 
answers  were  not  interesting.  Our  argu- 
ment left  me  with  plenty  of  faith  in  Harms- 
worth's  ability  but  not  much  faith  in  his 
idea. 

His  optimism  and  belief  in  himself  at  this 
time  were  unbounded.  For  example,  one 
evening  as  we  were  passing  the  Houses  of 
Parliament,  I  called  his  attention  to  the 
Clock  Tower,  where  an  illuminated  device 
above  the  dial  indicated  that  the  House  of 
Commons  was  in  session.  "  I  expect  to  be 
in  there  some  day,"  he  replied  thoughtfully. 
"  I  haven't  quite  made  up  my  mind  whether 
it  will  be  the  Commons  or  the  Lords.  I 
rather  think  I  shall  go  into  the  House  of 
Lords,  because  there  would  be  more  scope 
there." 

Another  prophetic  remark  that  I  recall 
was  made  by  him  one  day  as  we  were  pass- 
ing the  Times  building.  The  older  part,  a 


86  NORTHCLIFFE 

quaint,  red-brick  structure  built  in  the  form 
of  a  square,  dates  from  the  middle  of  the 
last  century.  "  Isn't  it  a  funny-looking 
old  building  for  a  newspaper?"  observed 
Harmsworth.  "  That  is  one  of  our  great 
British  institutions,  and  the  building  is  typ- 
ical of  John  Bull's  conservatism.  I  shall 
probably  own  a  daily  newspaper  some  day, 
and  may  even  get  The  Times,  but  if  I  do 
I  shall  never  transform  it  into  a  yellow 
journal.  That  would  be  sacrilege,  and  the 
British  public  wouldn't  stand  it." 

On  a  public  holiday — Easter  Monday,  I 
think  it  was — we  went  out  to  Hampstead 
Heath  to  see  the  historic  houses,  including 
Rose  Cottage,  the  former  home  of  the 
Harmsworths.  We  saw  the  holiday  crowds 
from  the  East  End  amusing  themselves  on 
the  Heath,  and  afterwards  had  lunch  at  an 
old  inn,  Jack  Straw's  Castle,  a  popular  bo- 
hemian  resort  in  those  days.  Some  writers 
and  artists  were  lunching  there,  and  among 
them  was  Seymour  Lucas,  a  well-known 
portrait  painter.  "  I  mean  to  have  Lucas 
paint  my  portrait  some  day,"  said  Harms- 
worth,  which  I  thought  rather  an  astonish- 
ing remark  to  be  made  by  a  young  man 


GENIUS  IN  TRAINING         87 

earning  about  fifty  dollars  a  week.  Some 
years  later,  however,  Lucas  did  paint  his 
portrait,  and  it  was  exhibited  at  the  Royal 
Academy. 

Near  proximity  to  the  great,  or  even  to 
the  future  great,  is  said  to  be  infectious  in 
some  cases.  That  Alfred  Harmsworth's  am- 
bition did  much  to  inspire  others  one  inci- 
dent will  serve  to  show.  The  only  employees 
that  the  struggling  firm  of  Carr  &  Co. 
could  afford  were  an  advertising  canvasser 
and  an  office  boy.  One  day,  when  I  called 
at  the  office,  I  found  the  latter,  a  youth 
named  Norton,  executing  some  fancy  steps. 
He  told  me  that  he  had  a  great  desire  to  go 
on  the  variety  stage  and  make  a  name  for 
himself.  A  few  years  later  Norton  and  his 
brother  made  their  debut  as  professional 
dancers,  appearing  as  the  "  McNaughton 
Brothers."  They  met  with  great  success  at 
the  English  music  halls  and  have  occasion- 
ally toured  in  this  country. 

Harmsworth  was  preparing  to  start  his 
new  paper  when  I  left  England  in  the 
spring  of  1888.  Eventually  I  returned  to 
New  York,  and  did  not  revisit  London  for 
three  years.  What  happened  in  the  mean- 


88  NORTHCLIFFE 

time  forms  another  story,  and  one  so  un- 
paralleled that  it  reads  almost  like  a  ro- 
mance. 

*    *    * 

With  this  chapter  the  account  of  Alfred 
Harmsworth's  early  training  comes  to  an 
end.  Although  he  was  only  twenty-three 
years  old,  he  had  laid  the  foundations  of 
future  success  by  careful  study,  persistent 
hard  work,  and  ceaseless  observation,  which, 
added  to  genius  and  ambition,  supplied 
qualities  that  invariably  win.  He  was  thus 
well  prepared  to  start  upon  the  great  ven- 
ture that  was  destined  to  bring  him  fortune 
and  fame. 


Ill 

SUCCESS  AT  TWENTY-FOUR 

MAKING  a  start  in  any  business  is  usually 
a  hazardous  proceeding  when  capital  is 
limited  and  much  competition  has  to  be 
faced.  This  is  especially  true  of  starting  a 
new  paper.  There  is,  in  fact,  probably  no 
line  of  endeavor  in  which  money  can  be  lost 
so  quickly  in  case  of  failure,  and  without  any 
return  for  hard  work  and  the  capital  in- 
vested. 

Alfred  Harmsworth  knew  this  to  be  true 
when  he  started  his  first  paper,  for  brief 
as  his  career  had  been,  he  had  seen  many  a 
wreck  in  the  London  publishing  world.  He 
knew,  moreover,  that  not  only  would  he  be 
obliged  to  compete  with  Newnes,  the  suc- 
cessful publisher  of  Tid-Bits,  but  that  sev- 
eral imitators  of  Newnes,  reinforced  by  a 
large  amount  of  capital,  were  already  pub- 
lishing weeklies.  To  any  one  less  deter- 
mined than  the  ambitious  young  man  who 

89 


90  NORTHCLIFFE 

originated  brilliant  ideas  in  a  small  office 
in  Paternoster  Square  the  outlook  would 
have  seemed  hopeless,  but  his  determination 
to  succeed  was  overwhelming. 

Heedless  of  all  warnings  from  well-mean- 
ing friends  who  feared  disaster,  Alfred 
Harmsworth  completed  his  plans,  made  up 
his  paper,  and  sent  it  to  press.  It  was 
issued  on  June  2,  1888,  a  weekly  periodical 
of  twenty-four  pages,  printed  on  cheap 
paper,  without  illustrations  and  without  a 
cover.  On  the  first  page  was  its  title: 
'Answers  to  Correspondents.  It  was  sold 
for  one  penny  (two  cents). 

In  addition  to  a  variety  of  interesting 
paragraphs,  written  in  the  editorial  office, 
the  new  paper  contained  a  selection  of 
short  articles,  supplied  by  the  editor  and 
some  of  his  free-lance  friends.  The  rest 
of  the  pages  were  filled  with  bits  of  humor, 
some  really  good  short  stories,  and  three 
columns  of  brightly  written  editorial  chat, 
in  which  the  youthful  publisher  discussed 
his  new  enterprise  and  asked  for  public  sup- 
port. 

Here  are  the  titles  of  some  of  the  articles 
that  appeared  in  the  first  number:  "  A  Liv- 


INTERESTING. 


EXTRAORDINARY. 


ACCUSING. 


cORR 


ON   EVERY  SUBJECT   UNDER   THE   SUN. 


No  I 


JUNE    2ND,    1888. 


Price  Id. 


MSWH1    IS  PUBLISHED  EVERT  WSIHESDSI  HOMIK6 

us  frcn  Iht  « 
20,    P«.t«T»io»te 


A  LIVING  CLOCK 

lepest  U 


if  a  clock  near  which 

lurch  clock,  he  continued  as  before  to  call  the 
ours  successively  ,  and  this  with  so  great  sccu- 
kcy.  botti  aa  to  the  number  of  tolls,  which  be 


HOW  DO  YOU  DO  7 
Ass  drawing  water. 
A  LIVING  CLOCK. 
Silk  stockings. 
HAIR  POWDER 
Origin  of  grog. 


ASS  DRAWING  WATER. 


brot.ke  Cattle,  in  the  Isle  of vht.iii drawn! 
water  by  a  largo  wheel  from  a  very  deep  well. 
supposed  to  bave  been  sunk  by  the  Romans 


Then  and  now. 

DEATH  FROM  IMAGINATION. 


I  bis  keepei 

tbe  wheel,  my  good  lad,"  which  Thou 


boy.   I 
,    ^ood.  lad," 
ely   performed  with 


iplete  his  labour,  because 
be  bucket  to  tbe  surface 
>pped  and  turned 


ever)'  time  be  b: 

of  tbe  well,  he  ,    _ 

round  his  head  to  observe  tbe  

master  laid  bold  of  the  bucket  to  draw 
him.  because  be  bad  then  s  nice  ev 


SILK   STOCKINGS. 


.  the  French  bit 


icquainls 


. 
Ed.ardVI       The  l 


Henry  II.  of  Fi 

gs  in  that  country,  at  the 
ith  the  Duke  of  Savoy 
ss  said  to  have  been  won 
both  by  Henry  VIII.  anc 
ter  was  presented  with  I 
1  MM°t*  by  Sir  Tboma, 

bis  "  History  of  tbe  World' 
r  of  hei 
of  black 


al.eth.i 
pretented  wi 
iui,s    by    her 


third   ; 
silk 


cloth 


RICHARD  WHITTINCTON. 


the 


VAILS  TO  SERVANTS. 

The  Earl  of  Leicester. 

ANCIENT  LONDON. 

A  fortnight  at  Brighton 

FOSSIL  BACON 

A  terrible  time  with  a  cobra. 

ARTIFICIAL  MEMORY. 

CHARLES  FOX  AS  A  GAMESTER. 


QUEEN  CAROLINE. 
Living  on  nothing  a  year. 
RIGHT  AND  LEFT  BOOTS. 
George  III.  at  home. 
WHERE  HE  HID  IT. 

JOKES. 


ORIGIN   OF  GROG 

TKE  British  sailors  bad  always  been  accus. 
clear,  till  Admiral  Vernon  ordered  those  under 
tion  gave  great  offence  to  the  sailors,  and.  for  a 

among  them.  The  Admiral,  at  that  time,  wore  * 
grogran  coat,  for  which  reason  they  nicknamed 
him  "  Old  Grog,"  etc.,  hence,  by  degree*,  the 
mixed  liquor  be  constrained  them  to,  universally 
obtained  among  them  tbe  name  of  •  Grog.' 


HAIR  POWDER. 


HAIR  powder  was  introduced  by  some  ballad 
lingers  at  tbe  fair  of  SI.  Germains.  in  1614.  Ir. 
:he  beginning  of  tbe  reign  of  George  I.  only  two 
ladies  wore  powder  in  their  hair,  and  they  were 
pointed  at  for  their  singularity  And  at  tbe  coro- 
nation of  George  II.  there  were  only  two  hair 

lated  that  there  were  in  the  kingdom  of  Great 
Britain  fifty  thousand  hairdressers;  and  sup. 

day,  this  upon  an  average  amounted  to  18.230,000 
pounds  ID  a  year,  sufficient  to  make  5,314,260 
quartern  loaves. 


ECCENTRIC  CHARACTER. 

The  Rev.  Mr  Hagamore.  of  Cslsboge,  Leices- 
ersbire,  wss  a  very  singular  character.  He  died 
he  ist  of  January,  1776.  possessed  of  tbe  follow- 

money,  which  (be  dying  intestate) 'fell  to  a" 'ticket 
porter  m  London.  He  kept  one  servant  of  each 
se«.  wbom  be  locked  up  every  night.  His  but 
employment  of  an  evening  was  to  «o  round  his 
premises,  let  loose  his  dogs,  and  fire  bis  can. 
He  lost  bis  life  as  follows :  Going  one  morning  to 
let  out  bis  servants,  the  dogs  fawned  upon  him 
suddenly,  and  threw  him  into  a  pond,  where  be 
was  found  breast  high.  His  servants' beard  bis 
call  for  assistance,  but  being  locked  up  could  not 
lend  him  any.  He  bad  30  gowns  and  cassocks 
no  pair  of  breeches,  loo  pair  of  boots,  400  pur 
of  shoes,  80  wigi  (yet  always  wore  his  own  hair), 
5s  dogs,  So  waggons  and  carts,  Ho  ploughs  (and 
used  none).  50  saddles,  and  furniture  for  tbe 

that  a  toyman  in  Leicester  Fields  offered5 /s"lbr 
them,  oo  horses  and  mares.  200  pickaxes  200 
ipades  and  sloveli,  74  ladders,  and  249  razors. 


Front  page  of  the  first  Harmsworth  paper 


SUCCESS  AT  TWENTY-FOUR     91 

ing  Clock,"  "  Hair  Powder,"  "  An  Eccentric 
Character,"  "  Silk  Stockings,"  "  Ancient 
London,"  "  Fossil  Bacon,"  "  Right  and  Left 
Boots,"  "George  the  Third  at  Home," 
"  Death  from  Imagination,"  "  Forests  under 
the  Sea,"  "  Artificial  Memory,"  "  Living  on 
Nothing  a  Year,"  "  A  Terrible  Time  with  a 
Tiger." 

The  new  paper  failed  to  make  an  imme- 
diate hit,  the  sale  of  the  first  issue  amount- 
ing to  only  13,000  copies.  Contrary  to  the 
expectations  of  its  promoter,  readers  failed 
to  send  interesting  questions  to  be  answered, 
so  that  the  original  idea  had  to  be  abandoned. 
Realizing  that  he  had  been  mistaken  in  his 
opinion  concerning  the  British  public's  thirst 
for  information,  Harmsworth  soon  dropped 
the  words  "  to  Correspondents "  from  the 
title  of  his  paper,  leaving  the  word  "  An- 
swers." Then  he  decided  to  use  matter 
similar  to  that  which  appeared  in  Tid-Bits, 
while  introducing  some  new  features. 

To  save  expenses  the  hard-working  editor 
wrote  most  of  the  articles  himself,  and  used 
matter  from  American  newspapers  to  fill 
some  of  the  pages.  He  also  acted  as  his 
own  circulation  manager  and  personally 


92  NORTHCLIFFE 

visited  the  principal  news  dealers  to  call  their 
attention  to  his  paper.  Still  it  moved  very 
slowly,  the  monetary  returns  barely  covering 
the  cost  of  printing. 

Although  he  was  an  optimist  from  the 
start,  there  were  times  when  Alfred  Harms- 
worth  must  have  had  some  gloomy  moments. 
In  spite  of  all  his  efforts,  the  circulation  of 
the  paper  remained  small,  and  advertising 
was  difficult  to  get.  All  things  considered, 
the  chances  of  success  were  not  encouraging. 
A  young  man  with  less  faith,  less  patience, 
and  less  enthusiasm  would  have  given  up  the 
task. 

During  all  those  critical  months,  however, 
his  mother  never  wavered  in  her  belief  in 
her  son's  genius.  When  nearly  all  his 
friends  had  lost  confidence,  she  encouraged 
and  inspired  him,  urging  him  to  keep  on  and 
win  success.  Her  judgment  was  excellent, 
and  the  young  publisher  relied  upon  her 
counsel.  Abraham  Lincoln  once  said:  "All 
that  I  am,  all  that  I  ever  hope  to  be,  I  owe 
to  my  mother."  When  he  had  conquered 
failure  and  achieved  success,  Alfred  Harms- 
worth  could  say  the  same. 

But  even  while  he  was  passing  through 


SUCCESS  AT  TWENTY-FOUR      93 

this  crisis,  he  never  once  lost  his  undaunted 
self-confidence  and  belief  in  the  future.  So 
great  was  his  conviction  that  he  would  even- 
tually win  out,  that  he  married  his  fiancee, 
Miss  Mary  Elizabeth  Milner.  She  was  a 
typical  English  beauty  of  nineteen,  highly 
talented  and  broadly  educated.  Her  father, 
who  lived  at  Kidlington  in  Oxfordshire,  had 
business  interests  in  the  West  Indies.  After 
marriage,  the  youthful  couple  lived  in  a 
small,  old-fashioned  house  in  Hampstead. 

Young  Mrs.  Harmsworth,  herself  an  opti- 
mist, was  delighted  at  the  courage  with 
which  her  husband  was  making  his  fight 
for  success,  and  her  encouragement  was  at 
that  time  vitally  important  to  him.  She 
took  an  active  part  in  his  work  and  shared 
the  struggles  of  the  first  year,  going  to  the 
office  every  day  to  assist  in  reading  manu- 
script, clipping  newspapers,  and  typing  the 
correspondence.  Having  unusually  good 
powers  of  observation  and  possessing  excel- 
lent judgment  in  literary  matters,  she  was 
a  great  help,  especially  in  giving  hints  con- 
cerning stories  and  articles  that  would  inter- 
est women  readers. 

In  spite  of  much  hard  work  and  constant 


94  NORTHCLIFFE 

inspiration,  however,  Harmsworth  was  un- 
able to  effect  much  increase  in  his  paper's 
circulation.  For  this  he  was  not  to  blame, 
because  the  best  paper  in  the  world  cannot 
succeed  without  capital  with  which  to  adver- 
tise it,  and  capital  was  needed  to  make 
Answers  a  success.  As  it  was  not  forth- 
coming, the  ingenious  editor  did  what  he 
could  to  advertise  the  paper  himself.  Among 
other  plans  that  he  devised,  a  letter  in  fac- 
simile handwriting  was  printed  by  thousands 
for  distribution.  It  had  the  appearance  of 
having  been  written  by  a  young  woman  to 
a  friend,  and  described  the  wonderful  stories 
appearing  in  Answers.  Men  were  hired  to 
drop  these  letters  in  the  letter  boxes  of 
private  houses,  mostly  in  London.  The 
scheme  had  some  success,  and  gained  many 
readers. 

Just  at  this  critical  stage,  when  capital 
was  so  urgently  required,  an  old  family 
friend,  a  retired  army  officer,  came  to  the 
rescue  like  the  good  genie  in  the  "  Arabian 
Nights."  Having  faith  in  Harmsworth's 
ability,  he  decided  to  back  Answers  to  the 
extent  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars. 

With  this  help  the  young  publisher  was 


V 


Mrs.  Alfred  Harmsworth 

(In  1897) 


SUCCESS  AT  TWENTY-FOUR     95 

able  to  improve  his  paper  by  starting  com- 
petitions and  offering  prizes  as  Newnes  had 
done,  while  traveling  readers  were  given  the 
benefit  of  $5000  insurance.  Among  the  first 
prizes  were  free  trips  to  Paris.  In  spite  of 
this,  and  the  fact  that  the  paper  was  well 
advertised,  success  was  not  achieved,  and  in 
June,  1889,  one  year  after  its  first  appear- 
ance, the  weekly  circulation  was  only  48,000. 

But  the  skill,  judgment,  and  tenacity 
which  have  distinguished  Lord  Northcliffe 
in  recent  times  were  just  as  pronounced  in 
the  days  when  he  was  Alfred  Harmsworth 
and  was  struggling  to  make  his  first  success. 
He  would  not  give  up  the  fight;  and  for- 
tune, which  ever  favors  the  brave,  at  last 
bestowed  her  rewards.  The  story  is  soon 
told. 

In  October,  1889,  when  the  outlook 
seemed  discouraging,  the  resolute  editor 
evolved  a  brilliant  idea  which  was  destined 
to  make  Answers  a  success.  He  lost  no  time 
in  putting  it  into  operation.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  November  all  England  was  aston- 
ished by  the  appearance  of  huge  posters  in 
lurid  colors,  displayed  on  walls  and  fences, 
bearing  the  magic  words :  "  £l  a  Week  for 


96  NORTHCLIFFE 

Life!'*  Harmsworth  had  offered  the  un- 
precedented prize  of  <£l  a  week  for  life  to 
any  person  who  made  the  nearest  guess  to 
the  amount  of  money  in  the  Bank  of  Eng- 
land on  a  certain  date.  He  staked  every- 
thing on  the  enterprise. 

At  that  time  the  buying  power  of  £l 
($5)  in  England  almost  equaled  that  of  $10 
in  the  United  States.  It  was  therefore  a 
tempting  offer.  Each  competitor  was 
obliged  to  cut  a  coupon  from  Answers,  and 
have  it  attested  with  the  names  and  ad- 
dresses of  four  friends.  The  coupons  were 
then  forwarded  to  Answers'  office  for  regis- 
tration. News  of  the  competiton  spread 
like  wildfire,  and  its  success  was  instanta- 
neous. At  last  the  number  of  competitors 
reached  the  amazing  total  of  718,000,  so 
that  the  paper,  through  the  names  on  the 
coupons,  was  brought  to  the  attention  of 
between  three  and  four  million  people. 
When  seen,  it  was  taken  regularly  by  thou- 
sands. So  great  was  the  interest  aroused 
that,  day  after  day,  the  newspaper  reports  of 
the  Bank  of  England's  balances  were  dis- 
cussed on  every  side,  while  men  in  all  ranks 
of  life  were  caught  in  the  excitement. 


SUCCESS  AT  TWENTY-FOUR     97 

The  circulation  of  Answers  now  mounted 
upward  at  a  rapid  pace,  and  before  long  it 
had  reached  200,000  a  week.  Advertising  at 
high  rates  was  thus  easily  obtained,  and 
money  literally  poured  into  the  publishing 
office.  From  barely  paying  expenses  the 
paper,  in  a  few  months,  was  showing  a  profit 
at  the  rate  of  over  $50,000  a  year.  Six 
years  later  the  annual  profits  had  leaped  to 
$300,000.  Alfred  Harmsworth  now  realized 
that  his  dreams  had  come  true,  and  that  at 
last  he  was  on  the  road  to  fortune.  As  to 
the  competition,  that  was  won  by  a  soldier 
in  the  British  army,  who  guessed  within  £2 
of  the  actual  balance  in  the  Bank  of  Eng- 
land. 

Answers  had  been  started  in  the  diminu- 
tive office  of  Carr  &  Co.  in  Paternoster 
Square,  rented  for  $3  a  week.  As  the  paper 
became  a  big  success  through  the  competi- 
tion, it  was  necessary  to  rent  offices  in  the 
next  building  to  accommodate  the  clerks 
employed  in  checking  coupons  and  otherwise 
coping  with  the  large  circulation.  As  soon 
as  prosperity  was  assured,  the  enterprising 
publisher  was  joined  by  three  of  his  brothers, 
Harold,  Cecil,  and  Leicester,  the  first  acting 


98 NORTHCLIFFE 

as  business  manager  and  the  others  assisting 
editorially.  As  head  of  the  business  depart- 
ment Harold  Harmsworth  showed  remark- 
able ability,  and  helped  to  make  the  paper 
a  still  greater  success.  In  fact,  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  business  was  entirely  due  to 
Alfred  Harmsworth's  genius  as  an  editor 
and  an  originator  of  ideas,  coupled  with  his 
brother's  business  skill.  The  importance  of 
the  latter  quality  may  be  understood  from  a 
brief  explanation,  which  is  essential  at  this 
point. 

In  the  United  States,  as  is  generally 
known,  the  subscription  system  is  in  common 
use  among  magazines,  and  the  bulk  of  their 
circulation  is  obtained  by  this  method.  A 
yearly  subscription  is  sent  to  the  publisher 
and  the  magazine  is  mailed  regularly.  In 
towns  and  cities,  of  course,  there  are  news 
dealers  who  sell  the  standard  magazines,  but 
even  with  that  assistance,  most  of  the  cir- 
culation is  obtained  through  readers  who 
subscribe  direct.  The  minor  periodicals  are 
entirely  dependent  on  the  subscription  sys- 
tem. 

The  subscription  department  of  an  impor- 
tant magazine  is  a  highly  organized  and 


SUCCESS  AT  TWENTY-FOUR     99 

expensive  part  of  the  business.  It  requires 
much  bookkeeping  and  correspondence,  while 
the  wrapping  and  mailing  necessitates  the 
employment  of  a  large  staff  of  girls — hun- 
dreds in  some  cases.  Then  comes  the  cost  of 
postage,  which  is  a  heavy  item. 

In  Great  Britain  the  system  is  entirely 
different.  Owing  to  the  small  area  of  the 
United  Kingdom,  as  explained  in  the  first 
chapter,  the  people  are  all  gathered  com- 
pactly within  a  radius  of  a  few  hundred 
miles.  Even  in  a  village  of  any  size  there 
is  usually  a  news  dealer,  while  Smith  &  Sons 
have  a  news  stand  at  every  important  rail- 
way station.  The  English  people  have  thus 
become  accustomed  to  buying  their  papers 
from  a  news  dealer  or  ordering  them  through 
a  news  dealer  instead  of  subscribing  by  the 
year.  This  does  away  almost  completely 
with  the  subscription  business,  so  that  a 
magazine  with  a  big  circulation  needs  only 
a  comparatively  small  staff.  From  this  it 
can  be  understood  why  Answers  could  be 
published  from  a  small  office. 

A  point  of  equal  interest  is  that  in  Eng- 
land a  periodical  or  newspaper  can  be  made 
to  pay  on  its  circulation  alone,  regardless 


100  NORTHCLIFFE 

of  advertising,  while  in  this  country  adver- 
tising is  essential.  This  is  because  of  the 
lower  cost  of  production  and  a  cheap  method 
of  distribution.  It  may  be  added  that  while, 
in  this  country,  the  American  News  Com- 
pany has  almost  a  monopoly  as  a  distribut- 
ing agent,  in  England  there  are  a  large  num- 
ber of  wholesale  dealers,  all  of  whom  are 
naturally  interested  in  pushing  the  circula- 
tion of  periodicals  in  order  to  increase  their 
own  profits  as  middlemen.  This,  of  course, 
helps  the  publishers. 

It  did  not  take  Alfred  Harmsworth  long 
to  grasp  the  fact  that  the  future  success  of 
his  business  depended  on  buying  cheap  paper 
and  keeping  down  the  cost  of  production  to 
the  lowest  point.  In  other  words,  he  was  to 
be  in  the  position  of  a  manufacturer  of  peri- 
odicals. He  bought  a  certain  quantity  of 
white  paper  at  2l/2  cents  a  pound,  and  by 
editing  and  printing  turned  it  into  200,000 
copies  of  Answers  which  retailed  for  two 
cents  each.  Eight  copies  of  Answers 
weighed  a  pound,  and  while  the  white  paper 
had  cost  only  2^  cents  these  copies  could  be 
sold  for  sixteen  cents.  Even  after  the  cost 
of  production  and  the  discount  to  wholesale 


SUCCESS  AT  TWENTY-FOUR    101 

dealers  was  deducted,  a  big  profit  was  left. 
This  principle  eventually  enabled  the 
Harmsworth  business  to  become  the  largest 
publishing  business  in  the  world.  The  whole 
fabric  rested  on  the  system  of  buying  white 
paper  cheaply  and  transforming  it  into 
copies  of  a  periodical,  the  retail  price  of 
which  yielded  a  large  profit.  Advertising 
was  simply  an  additional  bonus,  and  was  not 
primarily  essential. 

It  was  here  that  Harold  Harmsworth's 
ability  was  displayed.  He  bought  paper  at 
the  lowest  market  price,  and  superintended 
the  cost  of  production  so  carefully  that  no 
waste  occurred.  As  the  business  grew,  his 
skill  as  the  financial  head  became  increas- 
ingly important. 

The  success  of  Answers  had  become  so 
great  by  the  beginning  of  1890  that  larger 
quarters  were  needed  for  the  editorial  staff. 
Accordingly  two  floors  were  leased  in  a  Fleet 
Street  building.  Soon  after  this  move  oc- 
curred, Harmsworth  issued  two  comic  papers 
for  the  masses,  Chips  and  Comic  Cuts,,  which 
had  some  resemblance  to  the  comic  supple- 
ments of  American  Sunday  newspapers,  ex- 
cepting that  they  were  printed  solely  in  black 


102  NORTHCLIFFE 

and  white,  and  in  addition  to  comic  matter 
they  contained  exciting  serial  stories  and 
some  editorial  chat.  These  papers  sold  for  a 
halfpenny  (one  cent)  each,  and  hoth  were 
pushed  by  means  of  competitions. 

There  was  this  essential  difference,  how- 
ever, about  the  Harmsworth  comics,  that 
whereas  the  American  comic  supplement 
leaves  something  to  the  intelligence  of  the 
reader,  the  Harmsworth  papers  did  not.  For 
instance,  in  a  series  of  pictures  conveying 
an  obvious  joke  which,  in  America,  would 
have  required  nothing  more  than  an  exclama- 
tion mark  and  an  interrogation  point,  the 
same  pictures  in  the  English  joke  sheets 
would  be  accompanied  by  elaborate  ana- 
lytical explanations.  For  instance,  some 
comic  pictures  representing  the  adventures 
of  a  man  and  a  bull  would  probably  have 
required  such  an  elementary  diagnosis  as  the 
following: 

"  The  bull  sees  the  man.  What  ho !  He  chases 
him.  Eh,  what?  Will  he  catch  him?  Just  wait. 
Ah,  the  tourist  prudently  sprints  for  the  nearest 
tree  and  shins  up  it  like  a  streak  of  greased  light- 
ning, while  the  baffled  bull  paws  viciously  below. 


SUCCESS  AT  TWENTY-FOUR    103 

Ha,  ha!     The  man  has  the  laugh  this  time.     But 
how  is  he  going  to  get  out  of  the  field?  "  etc.,  etc. 

Harmsworth  was  determined  to  drive  the 
point  of  his  illustrated  jokes  into  the  heads 
of  his  English  readers  with  a  hammer,  if 
necessary.  The  plan  was  thoroughly  suc- 
cessful, for  the  comics  eventually  gained 
huge  circulations,  the  weekly  issue  of  Comic 
Cuts  exceeding  half  a  million.  Each  paper 
helped  to  advertise  the  others,  Answers  call- 
ing attention  to  the  comics,  while  the  latter 
urged  readers  to  buy  Answers.  This  plan 
was  adopted  from  the  start  and  was  con- 
tinued as  the  papers  increased  in  number. 
At  the  end  of  1890,  Answers,  which  had  been 
much  improved,  appeared  in  an  orange- 
colored  cover,  and  in  this  form  it  is  still 
published.  From  the  tint  of  its  cover  the 
paper  was  popularly  termed  "  the  golden 
one."  It  certainly  proved  to  be  golden  for 
the  Harmsworths. 

Among  various  competitions  which  were 
employed  at  this  time,  the  "Answers  Puz- 
zle "  was  introduced,  and  this  alone  netted 
a  fortune.  It  consisted  of  a  box  about  the 
size  of  a  match  box,  containing  small  balls 


104  NORTHCLIFFE 

of  different  colors.  The  object  of  the  puz- 
zle was  achieved  by  shaking  these  in  such  a 
way  that  they  would  divide  into  appropriate 
colors  and  spell  the  word  "  Answers."  This 
puzzle  made  as  big  a  hit  in  England  as  the 
"  15  Puzzle  "  or  the  "  Pigs  in  Clover  Puz- 
zle "  did  in  this  country.  Nearly  a  million 
were  sold  in  a  few  weeks.  There  was  a  com- 
petition to  see  who  could  get  the  balls  into 
position  in  the  shortest  space  of  time,  and 
at  least  two  hundred  persons  came  from  all 
parts  of  the  United  Kingdom  to  try  for  the 
handsome  prizes  offered. 

In  the  early  days  of  Answers  its  enter- 
prising founder  had  paid  almost  the  equiva- 
lent of  a  year's  profits  for  a  serial  story  by 
a  famous  author,  and  Fleet  Street  critics 
then  declared  that  he  was  headed  straight 
for  ruin.  Now  that  Answers  was  prosperous 
he  caused  further  astonishment  by  paying 
the  highest  prices  for  articles  and  other  con- 
tributions. This  not  only  enabled  the  paper 
to  obtain  the  best  material,  but  the  circula- 
tion of  the  report  did  much  to  increase  its 
popularity. 

The  success  of  the  young  publisher,  his 
ability  as  an  editor,  and  his  ingenuity  in 


SUCCESS  AT  TWENTY-FOUR    105 

bringing  his  papers  to  the  attention  of  the 
public  soon  caused  the  name  of  Harmsworth 
to  become  well  known.  People  of  impor- 
tance began  to  take  an  interest  in  this  bril- 
liant young  man  who  was  already  amassing 
a  large  fortune,  a  fact  which  was  not  over- 
looked by  the  editors  of  London  society 
journals. 

When  his  papers  were  well  established, 
Alfred  Harmsworth  decided  to  become  the 
owner  of  a  home  in  the  country  where  he 
could  work  and  rest  far  removed  from  ex- 
citement. With  this  object,  in  1891  he 
purchased  an  estate  named  Elmwood  on  the 
coast  of  Kent,  about  seventy  miles  from 
London,  and  not  far  from  Broadstairs,  a 
popular  seaside  resort.  The  house,  a  typical 
English  mansion,  over  a  century  old,  had 
been  called  Elmwood  from  a  grove  of  an- 
cient elms  that  surrounded  it.  The  grounds 
were  extensive  and  had  been  attractively 
laid  out.  That  the  new  owner  of  Elmwood 
was  to  be  included  among  the  local  celebri- 
ties was  attested  by  the  county  guide  book, 
which  in  its  next  edition  added  the  following 
passage  in  its  ponderous,  highly  respectable 
style: 


106  NORTHCLIFFE 

"  A  notable  feature  of  the  village  of  St.  Peter's 
is  Elmwood,  the  seat  of  Alfred  Harms  worth,  Esq., 
who  has  done  so  much  to  improve  the  tone  of  our 
cheaper  periodical  literature." 

In  September,  1891,  the  American  news- 
paperman whose  early  impressions  of  Alfred 
Harmsworth  were  recorded  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  visited  London  after  an  interval  of 
three  years.  In  the  meantime  he  had  himself 
risen  in  the  world,  having  become  the  editor 
of  a  New  York  magazine.  A  month's  vaca- 
tion enabled  him  to  cross  the  Atlantic  again. 
Naturally  he  had  a  strong  desire  to  learn 
how  fortune  had  treated  the  optimistic  pro- 
jector of  Answers  to  Correspondents  and 
its  proposed  adjunct,  the  inquiry  bureau. 
Once  more  the  newspaperman  will  tell  his 

own  story. 

*     *     * 

The  day  after  I  arrived  in  London  I  hap- 
pened to  walk  along  Fleet  Street,  where  I 
noticed  a  number  of  street  hawkers  selling 
a  paper  with  an  orange-colored  cover  bear- 
ing the  significant  title  Answers.  Although 
I  had  heard  nothing  from  Harmsworth,  I 
decided  at  once  that  this  must  be  his  paper, 


SUCCESS  AT  TWENTY-FOUR    107 

and  that  judging  by  the  way  it  was  selling 
it  had  made  a  hit.  In  fact,  a  news  dealer 
from  whom  I  bought  a  copy  told  me  that  it 
was  not  only  one  of  the  best  sellers  among 
the  penny  papers  but  that  its  publisher  had 
already  cleared  a  fortune.  The  Answers 
offices  were  not  far  off,  so  I  decided  to  call 
there. 

Alfred  Harmsworth  was  in  when  I  called, 
and  I  was  given  a  cordial  greeting.  The 
three  years  that  had  passed  since  our  last 
meeting  had  not  made  any  appreciable 
change  in  his  appearance.  He  was  then 
twenty-six  years  old,  looked  as  youthful  as 
ever,  and  was  as  full  of  enthusiasm  as  in 
the  days  when  we  had  discussed  money-mak- 
ing schemes  in  the  little  office  in  Paternoster 
Square. 

Although  Answers  was  going  to  press 
when  I  called,  Harmsworth  was  perfectly 
cool  and  smiling;  for  while  he  was  a  born 
hustler,  yet  he  never  seemed  to  hustle. 
When  I  made  a  remark  to  that  effect,  he 
replied:  "  The  reason  is  that  I  direct  every- 
thing and  leave  the  carrying  out  to  others. 
The  secret  of  success,  I  have  already  dis- 
covered, is  to  originate,  direct,  and  scrutinize, 


108  NORTHCLIFFE 

but  to  do  nothing  which  can  be  done  just  as 
well  by  assistants." 

From  the  start  he  had  been  a  believer  in 
young  men,  and  even  then  it  was  noticeable 
that  some  of  his  sub-editors  were  scarcely 
more  than  boys.  "  Yes,"  he  said,  when  I 
mentioned  this,  "  they  are  young;  but  young 
people  know  best  what  young  people  want, 
and  a  large  number  of  the  readers  of  our 
comic  papers  are  young  folks." 

Even  on  my  first  examination  of  Answers 
and  the  other  papers  which  he  showed  to  me, 
I  could  see  that  their  success  was  largely 
due  to  the  fact  that  he  put  his  personality 
into  them.  He  wrote  a  good  deal  of  edi- 
torial chat,  and  each  paper,  from  beginning 
to  end,  had  a  personal  touch  that  made  it 
different  from  rival  publications. 

During  my  stay  in  England  I  accepted 
an  invitation  to  spend  a  week  at  Elmwood. 
The  old  mansion  had  been  furnished  with 
rare  taste,  and  it  was  in  an  ideal  spot  for  a 
vacation.  In  a  corner  of  the  grounds,  at 
some  distance  from  the  house,  a  frame 
bungalow,  consisting  of  one  large  room,  had 
been  erected,  which  served  as  an  editorial 
sanctum  and  working  place. 


SUCCESS  AT  TWENTY-FOUR   109 

From  the  day  of  my  arrival  I  was  pressed 
into  service,  Harmsworth's  secretary  having 
gone  away  for  a  two  weeks'  vacation.  Con- 
sequently there  was  a  lot  of  manuscript  to 
read,  proof  to  revise,  and  letters  to  answer. 
"  You'll  have  to  work  for  your  board,"  re- 
marked my  host,  in  his  usual  breezy  style. 
"  As  we  haven't  got  a  woodpile,  you  can 
read  some  proof." 

Most  newspapermen,  in  spite  of  what  they 
may  say  to  the  contrary,  really  enjoy  talking 
shop,  so  I  was  glad  to  lend  a  hand  as  edi- 
torial assistant.  Once  more  we  worked  to- 
gether and  discussed  publishing  schemes. 
Again  I  was  subjected  to  a  volley  of  ques- 
tions regarding  the  progress  of  American 
magazines  and  newspapers.  Incidentally,  I 
was  told  the  story  of  Answers'  success  and 
what  had  taken  place  subsequently. 

Harmsworth's  former  partner,  Carr,  it  ap- 
peared, had  retired  from  the  business  in  Lon- 
don, and  had  gone  to  live  in  Dublin,  where 
he  became  the  Irish  agent  for  the  Harms- 
worth  publications.  As  the  business  in- 
creased this  position  yielded  a  large  revenue. 
The  army  officer  who  had  helped  to  back 
Answers  at  the  start  had  sold  out,  receiving 


110  NORTHCLIFFE 

several  times  over  the  amount  he  had  origi- 
nally invested. 

The  success  of  Answers  and  the  comic  pa- 
pers, which  were  constantly  increasing  in 
circulation  and  yielding  larger  profits,  only 
served  to  whet  the  ambition  of  their  ener- 
getic founder.  Harmsworth,  in  fact,  had 
just  begun  to  lay  the  foundations  of  what 
was  destined  to  become  the  biggest  publish- 
ing business  in  the  world.  His  three  broth- 
ers who  assisted  him  were  already  deriving 
substantial  returns  from  their  interests.  In- 
cidentally, I  learned  that  several  bright 
young  men  were  being  trained  to  take 
charge  of  new  periodicals  which  were 
planned.  So  optimistic  was  Harmsworth  in 
regard  to  the  future,  that  on  my  return  to 
New  York  I  was  appointed  literary  agent, 
for  the  purpose  of  keeping  him  closely  in 
touch  with  American  publishing  develop- 
ments. 

*     *     * 

The  progress  of  the  Harmsworth  business 
from  1891  onward  was  remarkable.  It  was 
in  1891  that  its  tireless  promoter  hit  upon 
the  idea  of  issuing  two  papers  for  young 
women,  on  entirely  new  lines.  He  called 


SUCCESS  AT  TWENTY-FOUR   111 

them  Forget-Me-Not  and  Home-Sweet- 
Home.  These  papers,  attractively  designed 
and  illustrated,  were  made  up  of  interesting 
stories,  fashion  hints,  answers  to  correspond- 
ents, advice  to  the  lovelorn,  etc.,  and  were 
sold  for  a  penny  each.  Some  young  women 
assisted  in  the  editing  and  were  trained  in 
Harmsworth  methods.  So  successful  were 
these  papers  that  they  soon  had  circulations 
of  over  200,000  weekly.  They  were  followed 
by  Home  Chat,  a  pretty  little  magazine  for 
women,  costing  a  penny,  which  repeated  the 
success  of  the  other  papers  and  reached  over 
250,000  readers.  In  this  country  such  a 
publication  as  Home  Chat  could  not  have 
been  sold  for  two  cents,  owing  to  the  higher 
cost  of  production. 

In  those  days  the  "  penny  dreadfuls  " — 
the  English  equivalent  of  the  American  dime 
novel — sold  largely  among  boys  and  un- 
doubtedly did  much  harm.  Preachers  de- 
nounced them  in  vain.  Wouldn't  it  be  pos- 
sible, Harmsworth  thought,  to  destroy  the 
popularity  of  the  "  dreadful "  by  providing 
something  that  would  be  as  popular  with 
boys,  and  yet  would  be  without  its  unhealth- 
ful  features?  As  the  result  of  this  idea,  he 


112  NORTHCLIFFE 

started  a  weekly  series  of  halfpenny  stories 
for  boys,  tales  of  adventure,  etc.,  which  were 
issued  under  the  title  of  the  "Union  Jack 
Library."  These  met  with  instant  success. 
A  hundred  thousand  English  boys  were  soon 
reading  them  regularly. 

Other  boys'  papers,  which  sold  for  a 
penny,  were  next  brought  out,  and  these  also 
became  immensely  popular.  From  the  start 
these  journals  aimed  at  the  encouragement 
of  physical  culture  and  patriotism,  interest 
in  travel  and  exploration,  and  pride  in  the 
British  Empire.  An  outgrowth  of  this  de- 
partment was  the  establishment  of  the  Union 
Jack  Club,  which  has  a  large  membership  in 
Great  Britain  and  the  British  colonies. 

The  success  of  the  Harmsworths  inevi- 
tably brought  a  number  of  additional  rivals 
into  the  cheap -periodical  field.  Imitations 
of  Answers  continually  appeared,  the  ma- 
jority of  which  were  started  by  men  with 
little  or  no  experience  and  did  not  last  long. 
Alfred  Harmsworth,  on  the  other  hand,  had 
behind  him  several  years  of  hard,  practical 
work  in  every  branch  of  the  periodical-pub- 
lishing business.  Hardly  one  of  the  imita- 
tion papers  survived  more  than  a  few 


SUCCESS  AT  TWENTY-FOUR   113 

months,  in  spite  of  insurance  schemes,  prize 
competitions,  and  other  devices  which  were 
used  to  gain  circulation. 

Among  these  new  ventures,  however,  there 
was  one  success,  the  promoter  of  which  was 
Cyril  Arthur  Pearson,  a  plodding,  ambitious 
young  man,  who  had  been  a  free-lance 
writer  and  had  afterwards  held  an  important 
position  in  the  office  of  George  Newnes,  the 
publisher  of  Tid-Bits.  Pearson  wanted  to 
start  a  paper  of  his  own,  and  enlisted  the 
support  of  Sir  William  Ingram,  proprietor 
of  the  Illustrated  London  News,  in  whose 
office  Harmsworth  had  gained  his  first  maga- 
zine experience. 

In  1890,  with  the  backing  of  Ingram, 
Pearson  started  Pearson's  Weekly.  His 
paper  was  on  the  same  general  lines  as 
Answers,  and  to  push  it  he  employed  vari- 
ous competitions  and  offered  large  prizes. 
Backed  by  ample  capital,  and  well  adver- 
tised, the  paper  soon  gained  a  big  circula- 
tion. Pearson  adopted  Harmsworth  meth- 
ods from  the  start.  When  Answers  was 
clothed  with  an  orange-tinted  cover,  Pearson 
immediately  arrayed  his  paper  in  a  crimson 
cover.  When  the  Harmsworths  started 


114  NORTHCLIFFE 

comic  papers,  boys'  papers,  and  women's 
papers,  Pearson  followed  suit. 

Eventually  he  built  up  a  large  business 
and  brought  out  some  publications  of  a 
higher  class,  including  the  Royal  Magazine 
and  Pearson's  Magazine.  Although  he 
cleared  a  fortune  from  his  interest  in  the 
stock  company  which  he  organized,  he  was 
never  a  serious  rival  of  the  Harmsworths. 

In  1894  three  firms  practically  controlled 
the  cheap-periodical  field  in  England — the 
Harmsworths,  Newnes,  and  Pearson,  and 
the  Harmsworths  were  already  in  the  lead. 


IV 
DEALING  IN  MILLIONS 

THE  youthful  prophetic  instincts  of  Al- 
fred Harmsworth  did  not  prove  false.  "  I 
mean  to  have  the  largest  publishing  business 
in  the  world  some  day,"  he  had  remarked  to 
a  friend  in  the  first  years  of  Answers'  suc- 
cess, and  now  his  ambition  was  in  a  fair  way 
to  be  realized. 

The  reward  of  all  good  work  is  not  rest, 
but  more  work  and  harder  work.  At  least, 
that  was  the  case  with  Alfred  Harmsworth. 
He  had  kept  his  mind  fixed  on  the  splendid 
things  that  he  intended  to  do,  and  as  the 
days  slipped  by  he  found  himself  either  con- 
sciously or  unconsciously  seizing  upon  oppor- 
tunities that  led  to  the  fulfillment  of  his  de- 
sires, just  as  the  coral  insect  takes  from  the 
running  tide  the  elements  needed  for  its 
building. 

Success,  indeed,  seemed  to  be  in  the  youth- 
ful publisher's  blood.  He  was  apparently 

115 


116  NORTHCLIFFE 

one  of  those  men  who  are  determined  to 
march  cheerfully  forward,  alert  and  alive  to 
whatever  opportunities  are  encountered,  and 
thus  able  to  turn  them  to  profitable  account. 

In  1894  the  Harmsworth  business  had  in- 
creased so  rapidly  that  it  was  necessary  to 
find  larger  quarters.  Accordingly,  an  old- 
fashioned  four-story  building  (24  Tudor 
Street)  was  purchased.  The  new  home  of 
the  Harmsworth  publications  was  just  off 
Fleet  Street — London's  "  newspaper  row  " 
— and  therefore  on  historic  ground.  Within 
a  stone's  throw,  in  Gough  Square,  Dr.  John- 
son compiled  his  famous  dictionary  and,  sub- 
sequently, was  often  interviewed  by  the  talk- 
ative Boswell.  Interviewing  by  modern 
Boswells,  however,  was  never  tolerated  by 
Alfred  Harmsworth,  who  persistently 
avoided  time  wasters  whose  ability  to  talk 
exceeded  their  ability  to  work. 

Under  its  new  owner,  the  old  building 
was  soon  transformed  into  a  modern-looking 
structure.  It  was  renovated  from  top  to 
bottom,  painted  a  dazzling  white,  and  sur- 
mounted with  a  huge  sign,  "  Answers,"  in 
gilt  letters.  At  the  same  time  the  Harms- 
worths  decided  to  do  their  own  printing. 


DEALING  IN  MILLIONS      117 

An  adjacent  building  was  leased,  presses 
were  installed,  and  in  order  to  cope  with  the 
large  circulation  of  the  various  papers  it 
became  necessary  to  employ  day  and  night 
forces.  The  presses  were  constantly  at 
work. 

Alfred  Harmsworth's  office  on  the  first 
floor,  a  small,  artistically  furnished  sanctum, 
was  at  that  time  a  favorite  resort  for  writ- 
ers and  magazine  artists  who  had  contribu- 
tions to  offer.  Among  the  former  were 
several  producers  of  fiction  who  afterwards 
became  well  known  as  novelists.  Even  then 
the  energetic  publisher  was  a  conspicuous 
figure  in  London  journalistic  circles,  and 
among  the  rank  and  file  in  Fleet  Street  he 
was  familiarly  referred  to  as  "  Alfred,"  or 
sometimes  admiringly  as  "Alfred  the 
Great." 

With  the  growth  of  the  business  the  staff 
constantly  increased,  and  at  the  same  time 
Harmsworth  began  to  rear  a  brood  of  under- 
studies to  carry  on  his  work.  All  his  as- 
sistants were  young  men  and  women — the 
younger  the  better — capable  of  receiving  im- 
pressions and  at  the  same  time  ambitious  and 
full  of  initiative.  They  were  trained  in  what 


118  NORTHCLIFFE 

might  be  termed  the  "  Harms  worth  School 
of  Journalism,"  and  they  gradually  imbibed 
the  style  and  spirit  of  their  preceptor.  They 
also  became  specialists.  For  instance,  a 
young  man  would  concentrate  all  his  atten- 
tion on  supplying  matter  for  a  boys'  paper, 
another  would  edit  a  comic  sheet,  while  still 
another  would  devote  all  his  thoughts  and 
energies  to  keeping  Answers  to  the  front. 

Young  women  were  trained  to  write  en- 
tertainingly for  Home-Sweet-Home  and 
other  papers  that  appealed  to  feminine  read- 
ers. Some  of  them  became  editors.  They 
were  encouraged,  by  means  of  attractive  re- 
wards, to  originate  new  ideas  for  making 
the  papers  more  popular  and  to  invent 
schemes  for  increasing  circulation. 

Thus,  in  course  of  time,  Alfred  Harms- 
worth  gathered  about  him  a  staff  of  highly 
specialized  young  editors  and  writers  who 
gave  such  a  distinct  and  personal  tone  to 
his  publications  that  whenever  a  new  paper 
was  issued  from  24  Tudor  Street  his  increas- 
ing thousands  of  readers  knew  at  once  that  it 
would  have  what  they  liked — the  Harms- 
worth  touch. 

From  the  start,  the  young  publisher  be- 


DEALING  IN  MILLIONS      119 

lieved  in  paying  liberal  wages  to  the  members 
of  his  staff.  Cheap  men,  he  often  declared, 
could  take  care  of  only  cheap  jobs,  and  he 
wanted  no  cheap  men  around  him.  Long 
before  Henry  Ford  introduced  the  high- 
wage  system  in  Detroit,  Alfred  Harmsworth 
had  it  in  full  operation  in  his  London  offices. 
He  also  adopted  a  system  of  profit  sharing 
which  is  still  unexampled  in  the  publishing 
business  in  England  or  in  any  other  country. 

Whenever  he  selected  a  man  to  take 
charge  of  one  of  his  papers  he  agreed  to 
pay  him,  in  addition  to  a  good  salary,  a 
liberal  percentage  on  the  circulation  above 
a  certain  figure.  If  the  circulation  increased 
under  his  management,  he  made  money  for 
himself  and  the  firm;  if  he  failed,  he  was 
soon  replaced  by  a  more  capable  man. 

The  result  was  that  the  young  men  who 
conducted  the  Harmsworth  papers  took  as 
much  interest  in  the  business  as  if  it  had 
been  their  own.  In  fact,  the  chief  difficulty 
was  to  prevent  them  from  overworking  them- 
selves in  their  eagerness  to  become  rich. 
There  were  no  "  clock  watchers "  in  the 
Harmsworth  offices,  everybody  was  well  sat- 
isfied, and  even  the  sub-editors  had  monetary 


120  NORTHCLIFFE 

inducements  to  exert  their  energies  and 
originate  ideas.  By  this  method  of  profit 
sharing  Harmsworth  transformed  an  able 
employee  into  a  master,  while  the  fact  that 
the  man  had  an  interest  in  the  business  made 
it  impossible  for  a  rival  publisher  to  get  him 
away  by  offering  a  larger  salary.  This  plan 
was  continued  and  extended  as  the  business 
grew,  and  it  had  much  to  do  with  the  ulti- 
mate success  of  the  firm. 

The  rapidity  with  which  new  papers  were 
originated  and  developed  in  the  early  days 
is  strikingly  shown  in  the  case  of  the  Harms- 
worth  religious  publications.  The  story  of 
how  this  branch  of  the  business  was  estab- 
lished is  interesting  in  many  ways.  It  serves 
to  show  that  Alfred  Harmsworth  was  a  thor- 
ough expert  in  the  art  of  advertising. 

The  first  Harmsworth  religious  weekly,  a 
paper  of  an  entirely  new  type,  called  the 
Sunday  Companion,  appeared  in  1894. 
Heralded  by  all  the  profuse  and  sensational 
publicity  methods  that  had  been  used  suc- 
cessfully in  pushing  the  other  papers,  it  at- 
tracted widespread  notice  and  made  a 
decided  hit.  The  truth  is  that  its  ingenious 
promoter  had  discovered — long  before  Billy 


DEALING  IN  MILLIONS      121 

Sunday  made  the  same  discovery  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic — that  religion  stands  in 
as  much  need  of  advertising  as  any  secular 
commodity.  That  is  why  illustrated  posters 
of  an  unusually  startling  description  were 
used  in  boosting  the  new  weekly.  One  in 
particular,  inscribed  "  In  that  Great  and 
Terrible  Day,"  depicted  the  dome  of  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral  surrounded  by  aircraft 
which  were  dropping  bombs,  while  fire  and 
devastation  reigned  below. 

This  picture  might  have  served  as  an  illus- 
tration of  what  happened  during  the  first 
year  of  the  war,  when  Zeppelins  actually 
dropped  bombs  within  a  few  hundred  yards 
of  the  Cathedral  square.  It  was,  moreover, 
intentionally  prophetic,  as  it  used  to  adver- 
tise the  fact  that  the  Sunday  Companion 
was  making  a  feature  of  a  blood-curdling 
story  based  on  the  Book  of  Daniel  and 
Revelation,  in  which  the  horrors  foreshadow- 
ing the  end  of  the  world  were  vividly  de- 
scribed. 

Harmsworth's  wonderful  insight  into  the 
psychology  of  the  masses  was  shown  in  start- 
ing this  publication  at  a  time  when  English 
religious  papers  were  mostly  uninteresting, 


122  NORTHCLIFFE 

their  contents  being  made  up  of  religious 
news,  heavy  sermons,  and  dreary  articles. 
From  his  own  investigation  the  sagacious 
publisher  was  convinced  that  thousands  of 
English  families  were  literally  pining  for 
some  bright  Sunday  reading  matter,  and  his 
new  paper  was  designed  to  supply  this  want. 
The  Sunday  Companion  was  unsectarian, 
and  it  consisted  of  cleverly  written  illus- 
trated articles,  short  stories,  and  thrilling 
serials.  The  heroes  of  the  serials  were  as  a 
rule  exponents  of  muscular  Christianity. 

Like  every  master  business  man,  Alfred 
Harmsworth  had  a  positive  genius  in  select- 
ing men,  and  this  was  plainly  shown  in  his 
choice  of  a  religious  editor.  The  man  se- 
lected for  the  position  knew  nothing  what- 
ever of  religious  journalism,  but  he  had 
shown  great  ability  in  conducting  a  popular 
weekly  paper  for  Newnes,  the  publisher  of 
Tid-Bits.  He  displayed  equal  talent  as  a 
producer  of  religious  papers,  and  soon  made 
a  success  of  the  Sunday  Companion. 

Prize  competitions  with  a  decidedly  reli- 
gious flavor  were  lavishly  employed  in  adver- 
tising and  increasing  the  circulation  of  the 
new  weekly,  large  cash  prizes  being  offered. 


DEALING  IN  MILLIONS      123 

In  addition,  the  enterprising  editor  started 
an  organization,  somewhat  on  the  lines  of  the 
Christian  Endeavor  Society,  which  was  called 
the  Bible  Band  of  Britain.  Every  member 
wore  a  celluloid  badge  with  the  initials  "  B. 
B.  B.,"  and  was  pledged  to  fight  pernicious 
literature,  spread  Bible  truths,  and  inciden- 
tally make  known  the  merits  of  the  Sunday 
Companion.  In  course  of  time  this  organi- 
zation gained  nearly  100,000  members. 
With  the  assistance  of  the  Bible  Band  and 
various  other  methods  of  publicity,  the  Sun- 
day Companion's  circulation  increased  rap- 
idly. Three  years  after  it  was  started  it 
had  over  350,000  readers,  and  the  profits 
were  fully  $100,000  a  year.  Five  other  re- 
ligious weeklies,  consisting  of  home  papers 
and  story  magazines,  were  ultimately  started 
and  pushed  in  the  same  way,  and  all  of  them 
attained  circulations  of  over  200,000  weekly. 
Aside  from  supplying  the  masses  with 
wholesome  reading  matter  for  the  home,  the 
Harmsworth  religious  weeklies  accomplished 
a  great  deal  of  good  in  other  directions. 
Atheistic  attacks  on  religion  that  were  flour- 
ishing in  England  at  the  time,  were  vigor- 
ously answered,  and  these  answers  were  read 


124  NORTHCLIFFE 

and  digested  in  the  homes  of  the  masses, 
many  of  whom  had  previously  been  un- 
reached  by  religious  publications.  By  means 
of  prize  competitions  Sunday  schools  were 
helped,  church-building  funds  were  raised, 
and  large  numbers  of  religious  workers  were 
given  free  vacations  in  the  summer  time. 

The  terrible  condition  of  poor  boys  and 
girls  in  the  slums  of  London,  who  were 
obliged  to  go  barefooted  and  insufficiently 
clad  in  the  bitter  winter  months,  gave  these 
papers  another  opportunity  for  charitable 
work.  Appeals  were  made  for  clothing, 
boots,  and  stockings,  and  these  poured  into 
the  Sunday  Companion  receiving  station  in 
such  large  quantities  that  the  staff  was  un- 
able to  cope  with  the  details  of  checking  and 
distribution.  Eventually  this  department 
was  transferred  to  the  London  City  Mis- 
sions, which  has  since  carried  on  the  work. 

The  skill  of  the  versatile  religious  editor 
in  devising  circulation  schemes  attracted 
much  attention  in  those  days.  On  one  occa- 
sion he  obtained  several  tanks  of  water  from 
the  river  Jordan,  the  fact  that  it  came  from 
the  sacred  river  being  certified  by  a  British 
consul  and  some  Turkish  officials.  A  cut- 


DEALING  IN  MILLIONS      125 

glass  flask  filled  with  this  water  was  pre- 
sented to  any  reader  who  bought  a  certain 
number  of  copies  of  the  religious  weekly 
which  was  being  pushed,  and  who  otherwise 
helped  the  paper.  "  Christen  your  Babies 
with  Jordan  Water  "  suggested  the  astute 
editor  as  the  coupons  poured  in.  "  Earth 
from  Bethlehem,"  "  Gold,  Frankincense,  and 
Myrrh,"  and  a  weird  musical  instrument 
called  the  "  Harp  of  David  "  were  also  used 
as  premiums. 

Several  children's  magazines  next  made 
their  appearance — illustrated  penny  papers, 
some  of  them  containing  colored  pictures, 
and  all  of  them  so  well  adapted  to  the  needs 
of  English  children  that  they  were  at  once 
successful.  Later  on  the  Harmsworths  en- 
tered the  magazine  field  and  issued  the  Lon- 
don Magazine,  an  English  adaptation  of  the 
American  ten-cent  magazine,  which  was  so 
popular  from  the  start  that  it  soon  had  a 
circulation  of  50,000  a  month.  It  was  sold 
for  sixpence  (twelve  cents). 

Another  profitable  branch  of  the  business, 
subsequently  started,  was  the  educational 
department,  which  issued  educational  works 
for  home  instruction  in  bi-monthly  parts,  at 


126  NORTHCLIFFE 

sixpence  a  copy.  At  the  end  of  the  year 
cloth  covers  for  binding  were  supplied. 
Among  the  works  issued  in  this  manner  was 
the  "  Harmsworth  Self -Educator,"  which 
gave  instruction  in  a  large  variety  of  arts, 
crafts,  sciences,  and  languages.  Then  fol- 
lowed "  Popular  Science,"  a  "  History  of  the 
World,"  a  "  Natural  History,"  the  "  Harms- 
worth  Encyclopedia,"  and  the  "  Children's 
Encyclopedia."  The  work  last  named,  which 
was  lavishly  illustrated,  contained  interesting 
answers  to  hundreds  of  questions  that  a  child 
would  be  likely  to  ask,  covering  a  wide  range 
of  subjects.  It  had  an  unusually  large  sale 
in  Great  Britain  and  was  afterwards  revised 
and  published  in  book  form  by  a  New  York 
firm.  The  "  part  "  system,  it  may  be  added, 
while  successful  in  England,  has  never  been 
popular  in  this  country,  the  subscription 
book  plan  being  preferred  by  the  reading 
public. 

This  brings  us  to  another  stage  in  the 
career  of  Alfred  Harmsworth.  In  1895,  al- 
though scarcely  seven  years  had  passed  since 
he  had  started  his  first  paper  in  the  small 
office  in  Paternoster  Square,  his  business 
had  reached  such  large  proportions  that  it 


DEALING  IN  MILLIONS      127 

already  held  the  front  rank  in  the  English 
publishing  world  and  defied  all  competition. 
At  the  age  of  thirty  he  had  become  a  mil- 
lionaire, his  wealth  having  continued  to  pile 
up  so  rapidly  that  it  must  have  been  a  source 
of  astonishment  e-  en  to  himself. 

The  business,  however,  had  not  grown  of 
its  own  accord.  It  had  to  be  built  up  from 
the  foundation  and  demanded  foresight,  en- 
terprise, energy,  diplomacy,  patience,  perse- 
verance, and  the  most  scrupulous  fair  deal- 
ing. At  each  stage  of  its  development  the 
editorial  ability  and  originality  of  Alfred 
Harmsworth  were  strikingly  displayed,  to- 
gether with  the  skill  of  his  brother  Harold, 
who  proved  to  be  an  ideal  executive.  In 
editorial  matters  Alfred  listened,  weighed, 
sifted,  sorted,  and  then  decided,  and  when- 
ever his  decision  was  made  the  case  was 
closed. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  business  had  been 
largely  brought  about  through  the  adoption 
of  novel  ideas,  which  members  of  the  staff 
and  others  were  encouraged  to  present. 
Whenever  a  scheme  was  submitted,  with  the 
declaration  that  it  would  make  millions  for 
the  firm,  the  schemer  was  referred  to  Harold 


128  NORTHCLIFFE 

Harmsworth,  who,  with  pencil  and  pad,  soon 
found  out  whether  it  was  a  money  maker. 
If  there  were  possibilities  of  its  yielding  a 
good  profit,  a  liberal  price  was  paid  for  it. 

A  constant  succession  of  new  ideas  put 
into  practical  operation  by  a  highly  organ- 
ized and  efficient  staff  enabled  the  business 
to  expand  until  the  Harmsworth  papers 
were  taken  by  practically  every  member  of 
the  average  British  household,  from  mother, 
father,  son,  and  daughter,  down  to  the 
youngest  reading  child.  Alfred  Harms- 
worth  became,  in  fact  the  universal  periodi- 
cal provider.  His  publications  catered  to 
every  taste.  There  were  magazines  that 
highly  educated  people  could  enjoy,  and 
there  were  halfpenny  comic  sheets  that  would 
interest  the  most  illiterate  reader. 

In  1897  the  firm  of  Harmsworth  was 
recognized  as  one  of  the  wealthiest  and  most 
successful  publishing  houses  in  England.  In 
that  year  the  business  was  organized  as  a 
stock  company  with  a  capital  of  £1,300,000 
(about  $6,500,000).  Alfred  Harmsworth 
and  his  brothers  retained  a  controlling  inter- 
est in  the  new  company,  which  was  incorpo- 
rated as  Harmsworth  Brothers,  Ltd.  Some 


DEALING  IN  MILLIONS      129 

years  later  the  company,  with  increased 
capital,  was  re-incorporated  as  the  Amalga- 
mated Press,  Ltd.,  and  under  this  title  the 
business  is  conducted  at  the  present  time. 

When  the  company  was  originally  incor- 
porated, the  preferred  and  ordinary  (com- 
mon) shares  were  offered  at  <£l  ($5)  each, 
and  thousands  of  people,  largely  readers  of 
the  Harmsworth  papers,  became  stockhold- 
ers. Since  then,  the  ordinary  shares  have 
risen  as  high  as  $40  a  share,  and  at  the 
present  time  are  selling  somewhere  near  $25. 
Many  of  the  original  shareholders  made  for- 
tunes through  the  advance.  Forty  per  cent 
annually  has  been  regularly  paid  on  the 
ordinary  shares,  and  five  per  cent  on  the 
preferred. 

The  continuous  growth  of  this  great  pub- 
lishing enterprise  has  been  evidenced  by  a 
corresponding  increase  in  the  size  of  the 
company's  business  quarters.  In  1898  the 
editorial  offices  were  moved  to  a  large  new 
building  in  Carmelite  Street,  near  the 
Thames  Embankment,  now  known  as  Car- 
melite House.  In  1912  this  was  replaced 
by  a  still  larger  building,  Fleetway  House, 
in  Farringdon  Street,  which  was  erected  at 


130  NORTHCLIFFE 

a  cost  of  $675,000,  and  is  said  to  be  the  finest 
editorial  building  in  Europe.  Since  then  it 
has  been  found  necessary  to  lease  offices  in 
other  buildings  to  accommodate  the  various 
offshoots  of  the  business. 

The  plant  of  the  Amalgamated  Press  has 
developed  into  one  of  the  largest  printing 
establishments  in  the  world,  the  small  quar- 
ters in  Tudor  Street  having  been  replaced, 
many  years  ago,  by  extensive  works  in 
Lavington  Street,  South  London.  Here  are 
printed  the  fifty  publications  owned  by  the 
company.  Some  years  since,  it  was  found 
that  economy  could  be  effected  by  making 
ink,  and  the  company  started  an  ink  factory. 

A  still  more  important  development  oc- 
curred in  1902,  when  the  far-sighted  found- 
ers of  the  business  decided  to  make  their 
own  paper.  At  that  time  the  Amalgamated 
Press  was  buying  more  paper  than  any  other 
publishing  house  in  the  world,  and  it  was  not 
considered  a  good  policy  to  allow  the  supply 
of  raw  material  to  be  controlled  by  outside 
sources.  Although  the  initial  expense  was 
great,  future  requirements  made  it  essential 
for  the  company  to  control  a  supply  of  wood 
pulp,  and  thus  insure  a  constant  stock  of 


Fleetway  House 

Editorial  and  business  offices  of  the  Amalgamated  Press 

Courtesy  of  Macmillan  Co, 


DEALING  IN  MILLIONS      131 

cheap  paper,  by  establishing  a  paper  mill. 
With  this  object  a  thorough  investigation 
of  timber  properties  in  Canada  was  made, 
and  after  expert  advice  on  the  subject  had 
been  received,  a  tract  of  pine  timber  land, 
embracing  about  3400  square  miles,  was 
purchased  in  Newfoundland,  the  oldest  of 
the  British  colonies.  Here,  in  1906,  one  of 
the  largest  pulp  and  paper  making  plants  in 
the  world  was  completed,  at  a  cost  of  over 
$6,000,000. 

The  plant  includes  two  private  railways, 
steamers  which  carry  the  stock  to  England, 
and  trunk  telephone  lines  of  over  100  miles 
in  length.  In  the  course  of  a  year  1,500,- 
000  trees  are  felled  and  4,500,000  logs  are 
driven  down  the  river.  Running  full  time, 
the  paper-making  machines  can  turn  out  200 
tons  of  paper  every  day.  They  are  among 
the  largest  paper-making  machines  in  exist- 
ence. Sixty  thousand  tons  of  paper  are 
made  every  year,  besides  25,000  tons  of  pulp. 
More  than  2500  tons  of  paper  and  between 
1000  and  2000  tons  of  pulp  are  shipped  to 
England  every  three  weeks. 

The  power  for  the  mill  is  supplied  by  the 
great  falls  of  the  Exploits  River,  which  flow 


132  NORTHCLIFFE 

for  nearly  half  a  mile  over  a  series  of  de- 
clivities. The  fall  is  120  feet.  At  the 
highest  point  a  solid  concrete  dam,  882  feet 
long,  has  been  huilt,  making  possible  the 
generation  of  2500  horse  power.  The  paper 
business  has  been  incorporated  as  a  separate 
company,  the  Newfoundland  Development 
Company,  Ltd.,  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$7,000,000  in  $5  shares.  The  Amalgamated 
Press,  Ltd.,  and  the  Associated  Newspapers, 
Ltd. — the  latter  an  associated  company — 
— are  heavily  interested. 

At  Botwoodville,  in  northern  Newfound- 
land, the  paper  company  has  a  port,  whence 
the  paper  is  shipped  to  England.  The  com- 
pany employs  nearly  2000  workmen,  and 
three  communities  peopled  by  them  and  their 
families  have  sprung  up  in  what  was  re- 
cently a  primeval  forest.  Of  these  the  prin- 
cipal one,  Grand  Falls,  with  a  population  of 
3000,  has  become  the  second  town  of  im- 
portance in  Newfoundland.  A  flourishing, 
up-to-date  place,  it  is  supplied  with  well- 
paved  streets,  electric  lights,  churches, 
schools,  a  public  library,  a  bank,  a  theatre, 
"movies,"  and  all  the  other  adjuncts  of 
civilized  life.  No  expense  has  been  spared 


DEALING  IN  MILLIONS      133 

in  making  the  dwellings  of  the  workers  as 
comfortable  as  possible,  and  well-designed 
houses  have  also  been  erected  for  members 
of  the  staff. 

Only  newspaper  stock  is  manufactured  in 
Newfoundland ;  the  finer  grades  of  paper  are 
made  at  Gravesend,  about  thirty  miles  from 
London.  There  the  companies  interested 
have  erected  the  Imperial  Paper  Mills,  cov- 
ering seventeen  acres  and  constituting  one 
of  the  largest  paper  mills  in  the  world.  Pulp 
from  Newfoundland  is  transferred  from  the 
steamer  to  the  mill,  which  faces  the  Thames. 
Large  motor  trucks,  capable  of  hauling  sev- 
eral tons,  convey  the  paper  from  the  mill  to 
the  printing  works. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  Newfoundland 
company  has  proved  a  highly  profitable 
enterprise.  A  year  or  so  before  the  war, 
when  business  was  normal,  the  Amalgamated 
Press  received  about  $250,000  as  its  share 
of  the  annual  profits.  At  that  time  the 
yearly  profits  of  the  Amalgamated  Press 
amounted  to  £263,283  (about  $1,315,000), 
dividends  of  forty  per  cent  were  paid  on  the 
common  stock,  while  £25,000  ($125,000) 
additional  was  added  to  the  reserve  fund. 


134  NORTHCLIFFE 

In  spite  of  the  war,  which  caused  a  short- 
age of  print  paper  and  thus  had  a  deterrent 
effect  on  the  publishing  business,  the  prog- 
ress of  the  Amalgamated  Press  has  been 
highly  satisfactory.  New  magazines,  appeal- 
ing to  a  great  variety  of  readers,  have  been 
brought  out  from  time  to  time,  and  all  have 
proved  to  be  money  makers.  As  in  former 
times,  no  expense  has  been  spared  in  keep- 
ing all  the  papers  to  the  front  by  means  of 
prize  competitions  and  other  devices.  Cir- 
culation experts  are  constantly  traveling 
about  the  United  Kingdom,  investigating 
conditions  and  ascertaining  demands  in  the 
shape  of  reading  matter.  On  the  mechanical 
side,  every  novelty  of  merit  is  carefully 
scrutinized.  Men  travel  in  all  progressive 
countries  to  obtain  fresh  ideas  for  the  com- 
pany. While  it  is  gratifying  to  have  built 
up  the  greatest  periodical  business  in  the 
world,  those  responsible  for  the  welfare  of 
the  Amalgamated  Press  fully  realize  that 
even  the  greatest  success  can  be  maintained 
only  by  constant  watchfulness. 

Some  idea  of  the  work  entailed  in  print- 
ing the  fifty  publications  of  the  Amalga- 
^mated  Press  may  be  gathered  from  the 


DEALING  IN  MILLIONS      135 

following  facts  extracted  from  the  company's 
souvenir  book: 

Fifteen  million  words  are  checked  in  the  course 
of  a  year  by  the  reading  department. 

The  number  of  letters  cast  by  the  linotype  and 
monotype  machines  in  the  course  of  a  year  is 
700,000,000. 

If  all  the  pages  of  the  publications  printed  dur- 
ing a  year  were  placed  side  by  side  to  make  a  con- 
tinuous strip,  the  length  of  the  strip  would  be 
nearly  a  million  miles. 

Twelve  million  inches  of  cuts  are  made  by  the 
photo-engraving  department  in  the  course  of  a 
year. 

The  paper  bill  amounts  to  $5000  a  day. 

At  the  present  time  at  least  50,000  news 
dealers  handle  the  fifty  publications  of  the 
Amalgamated  Press,  which  have  grown  out 
of  the  little  weekly  paper,  Answers,  which 
Alfred  Harmsworth  started  so  unpreten- 
tiously less  than  thirty  years  ago.  The 
weekly  publications  alone  have  a  circula- 
tion of  eight  millions,  while  the  monthly 
magazines  have  large  and  increasing  circula- 
tions. 

In  recent  years  the  name   Harmsworth 


136  NORTHCLIFFE 

has  been  almost  entirely  dropped  in  connec- 
tion with  the  business,  while  the  Amalga- 
mated Press  has  become  increasingly  promi- 
nent as  the  publisher  of  what  were  formerly 
called  the  Harmsworth  publications.  It 
should  be  stated,  however,  that  the  founder 
of  this  great  periodical  company,  who  be- 
came Lord  Northcliffe  in  1906,  has  con- 
tinued to  take  a  deep  interest  in  its  progress. 

The  circulation  of  the  publications  of  the 
Amalgamated  Press  is  not  confined  to  Great 
Britain,  but  extends  to  Australia,  Canada, 
South  Africa,  India,  and  other  parts  of  the 
British  Empire.  As  in  the  early  days,  Lord 
Northcliffe  still  uses  his  influence  in  keep- 
ing these  periodicals  intensely  British  in  tone, 
appearance,  and  make-up,  and  this  largely 
contributes  to  their  success. 

Here  it  may  be  remarked  that  in  spite 
of  the  close  relationship  that  exists  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  and  the 
fact  that  the  two  countries  speak  the  same 
language,  their  taste  in  reading  matter  is 
widely  different.  Lord  Northcliffe  knows 
that  his  papers  would  not  succeed  in  the 
United  States,  and  he  also  knows  that 
American  papers  would  have  no  success  in 


DEALING  IN  MILLIONS      137 

England.  With  few  exceptions  American 
publications  have  failed  when  introduced 
there.  Even  American  advertising  matter 
cannot  be  used  in  England  without  consider- 
able revision.  British  and  American  national 
temperaments,  in  short,  are  so  diverse  that 
what  makes  an  instantaneous  hit  in  one 
country  falls  flat  in  the  other.  This  may 
be  a  cause  of  surprise  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  the  works  of  such  American  writ- 
ers as  Mark  Twain  and  Bret  Harte  are  as 
firmly  enthroned  in  England  as  in  this  coun- 
try; but  the  explanation  undoubtedly  is  that 
their  appeal  is  not  merely  national  but  inter- 
national. 

The  Amalgamated  Press  still  adheres  to 
the  plan  adopted  in  the  days  of  Harmsworth 
Brothers,  of  employing  young  men  and 
women — almost  youths  and  girls,  in  some 
cases — to  edit  certain  papers.  In  this  way  is 
carried  out  the  original  idea  of  the  founder, 
that  young  people  know  best  what  young 
people  want.  The  directors,  it  may  be  added, 
are  all  employees  of  the  company,  and  are 
thus  able  to  conduct  the  business  in  a  prac- 
tical and  thoroughly  efficient  manner. 

The  profit-sharing  plan,  which  produced 


138  NORTHCLIFFE 

such  excellent  results  in  the  early  days,  is 
still  continued,  and  the  head  of  each  depart- 
ment profits  as  his  department  grows.  A 
system  of  pensions  has  also  been  established, 
so  that  old  or  ailing  employees  who  retire 
from  the  business,  after  faithful  service,  may 
be  suitably  provided  for.  At  the  present 
time  the  pension  fund  amounts  to  over  $300,° 
000,  and  it  is  constantly  growing  larger. 

A  believer  in  high  wages  and  the  principle 
that  the  efficient  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire, 
Lord  Northcliffe  has  caused  the  workers  in 
many  departments  of  the  Amalgamated 
Press  to  be  paid  much  above  the  market 
price.  This  enables  the  company  to  obtain 
the  highest  skill.  Not  long  ago  a  London 
printing  firm  complained  that  the  Amalga- 
mated Press  had  secured  the  pick  of  the 
printing  trade  by  means  of  "  extravagant " 
wages  paid  to  compositors  and  pressmen. 

To  get  the  best  work  out  of  people  Lord 
Northcliffe  believes  that  rest  and  recreation 
are  essential.  With  this  object  in  view,  the 
offices  of  the  Amalgamated  Press  are  closed 
at  six  o'clock  every  Friday  evening  and  are 
not  opened  until  business  hours  on  Monday 
morning.  At  present  nearly  3000  persons 


DEALING  IN  MILLIONS      139 

are  employed  in  the  editorial,  business,  and 
printing  departments.  Prior  to  the  war  the 
employees  had  formed  a  militia  regiment. 
They  had  also  two  bands,  and  cricket,  foot- 
ball, and  golf  clubs,  as  well  as  various  social 
organizations. 

Although  an  ardent  believer  in  hard  work, 
Lord  Northcliffe  is  a  strong  advocate  of 
vacations.  The  heads  of  departments  are 
therefore  obliged  to  take  an  occasional  holi- 
day, preferably  out  of  England,  in  order  to 
get  a  change  of  scene  and  interest.  North- 
cliffe himself  plays  the  game  of  business  for 
all  that  is  in  it,  but  while  he  exacts  the  same 
toll  from  his  employees  he  also  realizes  that 
the  best  results  are  obtained  from  men  in 
good  condition,  and  it  is  his  constant  en- 
deavor to  keep  all  his  workers  mentally  and 
physically  fit. 

Unique  among  millionaire  publishers, 
Lord  Northcliffe  has  raised  a  goodly  brood 
of  wealthy  men  among  his  helpers,  and  has 
followed  the  example  of  Andrew  Carnegie 
by  sharing  a  part  of  his  riches  with  those 
who  assisted  him  in  building  up  his  great 
business.  His  brother  Harold,  the  financial 
genius,  whose  skill  as  a  business  manager 


140  NORTHCLIFFE 

largely  contributed  toward  the  transforma- 
tion of  a  small  enterprise  into  what  has  be- 
come the  gigantic  Amalgamated  Press,  is 
now  a  multi-millionaire  himself.  A  few 
years  ago  he  was  raised  to  the  peerage  with 
the  title  of  Lord  Rothermere.  Two  other 
brothers,  Cecil  and  Leicester,  ceased  to  take 
an  active  part  in  the  business  some  years  be- 
fore the  incorporation  of  the  Amalgamated 
Press,  but  have  derived  large  fortunes  from 
their  interests  in  the  company.  Both  are 
now  Members  of  Parliament,  and  are  promi- 
nently identified  with  English  political  life. 
Three  younger  brothers  who  were  also  ex- 
tensive shareholders,  were  placed  in  posses- 
sion of  big  incomes. 

Some  of  the  young  men  who  became  con- 
nected with  the  business  in  the  early  days 
and  grew  up  with  it  earned  from  ten  to 
twenty  thousand  dollars  a  year  in  editorial 
positions.  Several  left  the  firm  with  a  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  or  more.  One  mem- 
ber of  the  staff,  who  entered  the  business  in 
1895  at  a  salary  of  $15  a  week,  was  eventu- 
ally promoted  until  he  became  editor-in- 
chief  of  Answers  and  other  papers,  his  salary 
and  commissions  amounting  to  $50,000  a 


DEALING  IN  MILLIONS      141 

year.  Some  years  ago,  when  a  change  was 
made  in  the  management,  he  accepted  half 
a  million  dollars  to  cancel  his  contract.  The 
only  member  of  the  original  staff  still  con- 
nected with  the  company  is  George  A.  Sut- 
ton,  who  began  his  career  as  a  stenographer, 
afterwards  became  secretary  to  Lord  North- 
cliffe,  and  is  now  general  manager  of  the 
Amalgamated  Press.  He  is  said  to  receive  a 
larger  salary  than  that  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States. 

Thus  ends  the  story  of  the  periodical  busi- 
ness of  Alfred  Harmsworth,  started  in  so 
small  a  way  and  transformed,  through  his 
genius,  into  a  vast  industry.  Even  the  wild- 
est dreams  of  his  youth  were  more  than 
realized  when  he  became  the  head  of  the 
greatest  publishing  business  in  the  world, 
founder  of  one  of  the  largest  paper-making 
companies,  and  a  Croesus  in  point  of  wealth. 


A  WONDERFUL  NEWSPAPER 

In  presenting  the  story  of  Lord  Northcliffe  the 
facts  concerning  his  periodical  business  and  his 
newspapers  have  been  kept  apart,  for  the  reason 
that  his  activities  in  these  fields  of  endeavor  form 
distinct  phases  of  his  career.  The  two  depart- 
ments, moreover,  have  always  been  kept  separate, 
and  are  managed  by  different  companies.  There- 
fore, an  account  of  how  he  became  the  world's  fore- 
most newspaper  owner  has  been  given  in  the  three 
following  chapters;  each  of  which  forms  a  special 
narrative. 

FROM  the  time  that  he  started  out  as  a 
journalist,  Alfred  Harmsworth  had  been 
inspired  with  the  ambition  to  own  and  edit 
an  important  London  newspaper.  He  had 
kept  that  goal  in  view,  and  was  determined 
not  to  be  satisfied  until  he  had  reached  it. 
Visionary  as  this  idea  might  have  seemed 
when  he  was  struggling  to  earn  his  living  as 
a  free-lance  writer,  nevertheless  his  ambition 
142 


A  WONDERFUL  NEWSPAPER    143 

was  destined  to  be  realized  while  he  was  still 
youthful. 

The  career  of  Alfred  Harmsworth  had 
proved,  even  then,  that  to  the  man  with  see- 
ing eyes  and  well-trained  mind  opportunity 
comes,  not  once,  but  many  times  in  a  life- 
time. Therefore,  when  the  goddess  of  op- 
portunity sought  for  a  purchaser  for  the 
London  Evening  News  she  went  straight  to 
the  door  of  the  young  publisher  at  24  Tudor 
Street. 

In  October,  1894,  when  he  was  twenty- 
nine  years  of  age  and  had  established  his 
periodical  business  so  successfully  that  it 
had  already  brought  him  a  fortune,  Alfred 
Harmsworth  astonished  London  by  announc- 
ing that  he  had  bought  the  Evening  News. 
The  manner  in  which  he  became  owner  of 
this  newspaper  formed  another  remarkable 
incident  in  his  eventful  life,  and  it  also  con- 
tained certain  elements  of  the  picturesque 
which,  it  has  been  said,  should  form  the 
background  of  every  great  business. 

The  Evening  News  had  been  started  in 
London  in  1881  to  support  the  Conservative 
party,  but  had  never  been  a  success.  Al- 
though money  had  been  lavished  on  the 


144 NQRTHCLIFFE 

paper,  and  the  Conservatives  had  dug  into 
their  pockets  to  the  extent  of  over  two  mil- 
lion dollars  in  their  efforts  to  bolster  it  up, 
the  unfortunate  sheet  had  gone  from  bad 
to  worse.  It  was  badly  edited,  changes  of 
management  were  frequent,  and  in  1894  the 
circulation  was  racing  toward  the  zero  point. 
Facing  a  big  deficit,  the  directors  of  the 
stock  company  which  owned  the  paper  be- 
came thoroughly  dissatisfied,  and  at  last  de- 
cided to  sell  out. 

Just  at  that  time  there  happened  to  be  a 
shrewd  young  Scotchman  named  Kennedy 
Jones  employed  as  a  reporter  on  the  London 
Evening  Sun,  then  owned  by  T.  P.  O'Con- 
nor, M.P.  Opportunity  knocked  at  his  door 
also,  as  the  sequel  will  show. 

A  native  of  Glasgow,  Jones  was  a  husky, 
alert,  clean-shaven  young  man  with  a  slight 
Scottish  accent,  who  had  gained  his  first 
newspaper  experience  in  Edinburgh  and 
Manchester.  Later  on,  with  a  wife  and  an 
increasing  family,  he  had  migrated  to  Lon- 
don, where  he  soon  made  a  name  as  a  re- 
porter, particularly  in  the  line  of  sporting 
news.  "  K.J.,"  as  he  was  popularly  termed, 
knew  everybody  about  town,  especially  at 


the  music  halls  and  race  tracks.  He  was  a 
born  hustler  for  news,  and  his  beats  were 
innumerable.  Although  his  salary  on  the 
Sun  was  only  twenty-five  dollars  a  week,  he 
had  started  life  with  an  abnormal  supply  of 
energy,  ambition,  and  grit,  the  qualities 
which  enable  a  man  to  overcome  all  diffi- 
culties and  even  to  rise  above  an  unfavorable 
environment  in  achieving  success. 

In  his  youthful  days  Jones  had  bought 
groceries  from  an  enterprising  storekeeper 
in  Glasgow  named  Lipton,  who  was 
strangely  ambitious.  This  man,  Lipton, 
continually  surprised  the  lad  by  declaring 
that  he  meant  to  become  a  millionaire,  which 
inspired  him  to  become  ambitious  also. 
Eventually,  when  the  ambitious  grocer  de- 
veloped into  a  multimillionaire  and  became 
Sir  Thomas  Lipton,  head  of  one  of  the  great- 
est businesses  in  the  world,  Jones  was  con- 
vinced, more  than  ever,  that  there  was  some- 
thing in  ambition. 

When,  therefore,  Jones  the  reporter  hap- 
pened to  hear  one  day  that  the  ill-fated 
Evening  News  was  for  sale,  and  recalled 
that  it  was  Alfred  Harmsworth's  ambition  to 
become  a  newspaper  owner,  he  realized  that 


146  NORTHCLIFFE 

he  was  facing  the  great  opportunity  of  his 
life.  What  followed  would  be  impossible  to- 
day in  either  London  or  New  York,  but  it 
happened  in  London  in  1894. 

With  nothing  but  an  astonishing  amount 
of  self-assurance,  Jones  called  on  the  direc- 
tors of  the  Evening  News  and  told  them 
that  if  they  would  give  him  an  option  on  the 
paper  for  one  week  he  would  find  a  pur- 
chaser for  it.  His  manner  was  so  convincing 
that  the  directors,  ready  to  clutch  at  any 
hope  of  even  a  partial  salvage,  actually 
came  to  terms,  and  Jones  walked  away  with 
his  option.  Here  is  the  rest  of  the  story, 
as  it  was  related  some  years  later  by  Jones 
himself  to  an  intimate  friend: 

'  When  I  had  obtained  the  option,  the 
next  thing  was  to  interview  Alfred  Harms- 
worth.  At  that  time  I  was  a  hard-working, 
hustling  reporter,  and  was  not  particularly 
well  dressed  or  impressive  in  appearance. 
Accordingly,  I  decided  to  send  a  deputy  to 
24  Tudor  Street,  and  for  this  purpose 
selected  my  friend,  Louis  Tracy,  the  novel- 
ist, who  was  then  writing  stories  for  the 
Evening  Sun.  Unlike  myself,  Tracy  always 
looked  impressive,  and  wore  the  conventional 


A  WONDERFUL  NEWSPAPER    147 

frock  coat  and  silk  hat  which  then  distin- 
guished the  solid  citizen  of  London.  When 
I  broached  the  subject  to  him  and  promised 
him  a  share  in  the  enterprise,  he  agreed  to 
assist  me  in  putting  through  the  deal.  With 
this  object  he  went  round  to  Answers'  office 
at  once,  and  submitted  the  offer  to  Alfred 
Harmsworth,  who  was  favorably  impressed, 
although  he  seemed  to  suspect  that  Tracy 
had  not  originated  the  idea. 

"  '  Is  this  your  own  scheme,  Mr.  Tracy? ' 
he  asked.  Tracy  explained  that  it  was  I 
that  had  obtained  the  option.  '  Then,'  re- 
plied Alfred  Harmsworth,  '  Jones  is  the  man 
I  want  to  see.'  The  result  was  that  I  called 
at  24  Tudor  Street  myself,  and  after  some 
consultation  with  Alfred  and  Harold 
Harmsworth,  a  meeting  was  arranged  with 
the  directors  of  the  Evening  News.  The 
books  were  examined,  the  plant  was  in- 
spected, and  ultimately  the  paper  was  bought 
by  the  Harmsworths  for  £25,000  ($125,- 
000)." 

Having  acquired  the  paper,  Alfred 
Harmsworth  saw  that  Jones,  who  not  only 
was  a  journalist  of  wide  experience  but  had 
proved  that  he  was  original  and  enterpris- 


148  NORTHCLIFFE 

ing,  was  just  the  sort  of  man  to  edit  and 
manage  it.  So,  from  twenty-five  dollars  a 
week  as  a  reporter,  Jones  stepped  into  the 
position  of  managing  editor  of  the  Evening 
News  at  a  salary  of  five  thousand  dollars  a 
year,  with  an  eighth  interest  in  the  paper  as 
well.  Mr.  Tracy  also  received  liberal  com- 
pensation for  his  assistance  in  arranging  the 
affair. 

At  first  sight,  the  Evening  News,  as  a 
property,  looked  far  from  promising.  The 
offices  were  in  an  antiquated  building  in 
Whitefriars  Street,  the  presses  were  old  and 
worn,  and  about  the  whole  establishment 
there  was  that  atmosphere  of  decay  which 
pervades  decrepit  businesses  as  well  as  senile 
human  beings.  When,  therefore,  it  became 
known  in  Fleet  Street  that  Alfred  Harms- 
worth  had  bought  this  unlucky  paper,  men 
shook  their  heads  and  declared  that  he  had 
been  "  buncoed."  In  fact,  Harold  Harms- 
worth,  who  accompanied  his  brother  and 
Kennedy  Jones  on  their  first  visit  to  their 
new  property,  laughingly  remarked  to  an 
acquaintance  they  met:  "  We  are  on  our  way 
to  see  our  gold  brick,  and,"  indicating  Jones, 
"  there  is  the  man  who  planted  it  on  us." 


A  WONDERFUL  NEWSPAPER    149 

In  building  up  and  transforming  the  Eve- 
ning News,,  however,  Alfred  Harmsworth 
displayed  the  same  tireless  energy  that  he 
had  shown  in  making  a  fortune  out  of  his 
periodicals.  He  went  to  the  office  every  day 
and  worked  there  until  late  at  night,  sug- 
gesting new  features  and  introducing  novel- 
ties, his  intensely  practical  and  businesslike 
mind  sifting  every  detail  and  intuitively 
separating  the  relative  from  the  inconse- 
quential. 

Jones,  with  his  wide  experience  in  every 
branch  of  newspaper  work,  now  proved  to  be 
invaluable.  He  knew  what  the  masses 
wanted,  and  also  the  weak  spots  of  the  old- 
fashioned  evening  newspapers.  He  em- 
ployed the  best  men  for  the  sporting  depart- 
ment, with  the  result  that  the  racing,  foot- 
ball, and  cricket  reports,  which  make  or  mar 
an  evening  paper  in  London,  soon  put  the 
Evening  News  in  the  lead. 

Within  a  few  weeks,  by  effectively  admin- 
istering his  own  brand  of  the  elixir  of  life 
to  the  tottering  paper,  Harmsworth  revital- 
ized it  and  made  it  a  money  maker.  With 
its  smart  headlines,  snappy  news  stories, 
bright  special  articles,  women's  column,  joke 


150  NORTHCLIFFE 

column,  serial  fiction,  and  other  features,  the 
modernized  Evening  News  became  the  talk 
of  the  town,  and  by  the  end  of  the  first  year 
it  had  not  only  repaid  the  original  invest- 
ment, but  was  in  a  position  to  pay  six  per 
cent  on  its  shares.  At  the  present  time  the 
circulation  is  over  a  million  daily. 

With  all  its  brilliant  success,  however,  the 
Evening  News  was,  for  Alfred  Harmsworth, 
merely  in  the  nature  of  a  trial  horse  in  daily 
journalism.  It  was  an  experiment  or,  as  a 
miner  would  term  it,  a  prospect  in  the  do- 
main of  newspaperdom.  There  was  still  the 
same  craving  of  the  masses  for  a  bright 
morning  newspaper  to  be  satisfied.  Con- 
vinced by  the  success  of  the  Evening  News, 
in  a  single  year,  that  he  had  struck  a  mine 
of  virgin  gold,  the  far-seeing  young  publisher 
decided  to  start  what  had  long  been  in  his 
mind,  a  morning  paper  conducted  on  entirely 
new  lines. 

In  America  we  have  come  into  an  era 
when  the  afternoon  newspaper  is  the  swift, 
rapid-fire  distributer  of  news,  with  a  follow- 
ing that  constantly  increases,  but  in  Eng- 
land the  morning  paper  still  remains  the 
heavy  gun.  Alfred  Harmsworth  was  well 


A  WONDERFUL  NEWSPAPER  151 

aware  of  the  latter  fact  when,  in  the  spring 
of  1896,  he  prepared  to  launch  his  new 
daily,  and  invested  over  two  and  a  half 
million  dollars  in  the  enterprise. 

With  his  characteristic  thoroughness,  he 
made  sure  that  the  machinery  of  organiza- 
tion would  be  in  working  order  on  the  day 
of  publication  by  having  the  paper  issued 
daily,  for  private  examination,  during  a 
period  of  three  months.  Although  not  a 
single  copy  of  the  paper  was  circulated, 
every  issue  was  subjected  to  the  same  rigor- 
ous criticism  that  it  would  have  received  had 
it  already  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
public.  In  those  three  months  Alfred 
Harmsworth  was  appraising  material,  sound- 
ing tendencies,  examining,  changing,  improv- 
ing, criticizing,  and  gathering  a  staff  of  the 
ablest  and  most  progressive  newspaper  men 
that  he  could  find. 

When  at  last,  one  morning  in  May,  1896, 
the  new  morning  paper,  the  Daily  Mail,  was 
presented  to  the  British  public,  it  had  a  real 
individuality  which  could  be  summed  up  only 
in  that  comprehensive  phrase,  the  Harms- 
worth  touch.  It  was,  moreover,  the  first 
morning  paper  to  be  issued  in  Great  Britain 


152  NORTHCLIFFE 

for  a  halfpenny,  or  one  cent.  The  price  was 
a  radical  departure,  but  one  which  made  an 
instant  appeal  to  the  masses,  as  its  founder 
had  expected.  Not  only  was  the  style  and 
appearance  of  the  new  daily  entirely  different 
from  that  of  the  other  morning  papers,  but 
the  whole  spirit  of  the  newcomer  was  thor- 
oughly in  accordance  with  modern  ideas. 
Widely  advertised,  as  it  had  been,  through 
the  Harmsworth  weekly  periodicals,  the 
Daily  Mail  proved  an  immediate  success. 
It  started  on  its  wonderful  career  with  a  cir- 
culation of  over  a  quarter  of  a  million. 

The  lines  on  which  the  new  daily  was  man- 
aged, as  well  as  the  novelty  of  its  appear- 
ance, caused  much  astonishment  among  the 
editors  of  the  old-fashioned  London  dailies, 
the  majority  of  whom  lived  in  antiquated 
seclusion,  their  intercourse  with  members  of 
their  staffs  being  usually  conducted  by  let- 
ter. In  some  cases,  if  a  reporter  did  not 
receive  an  assignment  by  the  first  mail  in 
the  morning  he  was  not  expected  to  go  to 
the  office. 

To  these  editors  of  the  old  school  the  mere 
suggestion  of  liveliness  in  a  newspaper  was 
anathema.  From  the  normal,  everyday  in- 


A  WONDERFUL  NEWSPAPER    153 

terests  of  average  men  and  women  they  stood 
far  apart.  Enterprise  was  considered  by  them 
the  deadliest  of  sins.  They  ignored  the  en- 
tire change  in  the  educational  system  of  Eng- 
land that  had  taken  place  with  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  public  school  system,  and  the 
development  of  a  new  generation  of  thinking 
masses,  while  they  also  failed  to  notice  the 
progress  that  had  been  made  in  the  indus- 
trial and  economic  life  of  the  nation.  Not 
only  were  the  venerable  and  highly  respect- 
able newspapers  which  they  edited  ponderous 
in  tone,  but  they  contained,  day  after  day, 
profound  essays  on  foreign  topics,  scientific 
papers  which  nobody  but  a  scientific  man 
could  understand,  and  editorials  of  four  thou- 
sand words  or  more  on  high  politics.  There- 
fore it  is  not  surprising  that  their  aggregate 
circulation  was  small. 

Into  this  antiquated,  easy-going,  compla- 
cent journalistic  world,  the  Daily  Mail  sud- 
denly burst  with  all  the  force  of  a  high- 
explosive  shell.  In  marked  contrast  with  the 
conventional  English  newspaper  methods, 
Alfred  Harmsworth  and  his  editors  kept 
themselves  in  personal  touch  with  the  mem- 
bers of  the  staff,  watched  their  work,  and 


154 NORTHCLIFFE 

drilled  them  into  a  high  degree  of  efficiency  0 
The  system  adopted  was,  in  fact,  much  the 
same  as  that  which  is  followed  in  any  well- 
regulated  American  newspaper  office. 

Compact  in  size — a  pigmy  compared  with 
the  blanket  sheets  of  the  other  London 
dailies,  and  smaller  than  any  of  the  New 
York  papers — the  Daily  Mail  consisted  of 
eight  pages,  the  news  being  condensed  into 
the  smallest  space  so  that  it  could  be  read 
quickly.  The  fourth  page  was  devoted  to 
short  editorials  and  special  articles.  On  the 
sixth  page  were  magazine  features  and  a 
serial  story. 

The  British  public  liked  the  new  paper. 
It  was  a  success  from  the  start,  and  in  less 
than  a  year  its  circulation  was  over  three 
hundred  thousand.  By  the  end  of  the  sec- 
ond year  this  had  increased  to  half  a  million, 
and  during  the  Boer  War,  in  1900,  it  reached 
the  million  mark.  At  present  the  normal 
circulation  is  somewhere  about  1,500,000. 

An  examination  of  the  early  numbers  of 
the  Daily  Mail  shows,  curiously  enough,  that 
the  paper,  from  an  American  point  of  view9 
was  quite  conventional  in  almost  everything 
except  its  condensed  news  and  the  introduc- 


Alfred  Harmsworth  in  1897 

Reading  his  newspaper,  the  Daily  Mail 


A  WONDERFUL  NEWSPAPER    155 

tion  of  some  new  features.  The  truth  is  that 
Alfred  Harmsworth,  above  all  else,  was 
afraid  of  alarming  the  British  public,  which, 
as  he  knew,  objected  to  being  Americanized. 
Suspicions  were  allayed  by  the  conventional 
appearance  of  the  new  paper.  Once  sure  of 
a  steadily  increasing  circulation,  however, 
the  discerning  publisher  began  to  brighten 
his  paper.  Additional  novelties  were  intro- 
duced, headlines  were  given  more  "  punch," 
editorials  were  cut  down,  and  signed  articles 
on  popular  subjects  appeared  on  the  fourth 
page.  For  breadth  of  interest  nothing  has 
ever  equaled  these  articles,  which  cover  a 
wide  variety  of  topics  and  from  the  start 
have  constantly  maintained  a  high  standard 
of  authority  and  distinction. 

From  the  outset  the  motto  for  Daily  Mail 
representatives  was:  "  Get  the  news  and  get 
it  first."  No  effort  or  expense  was  spared 
in  living  up  to  this  commandment.  Eminent 
writers  and  correspondents,  at  high  salaries, 
were  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  world  in  which 
events  of  importance  were  occurring. 
Shortly  after  the  paper  was  started,  for  ex- 
ample, the  late  George  W.  Steevens  was 
sent  with  General  Kitchener's  army  to  Khar- 


156 NORTHCLIFFE 

toum,  where  Gordon  was  avenged  and  the 
Khalifa's  power  in  the  Sudan  was  shattered. 

When  the  South  African  War  broke  out 
in  1889,  the  magnificent  organization  which 
Harmsworth  had  established  enabled  the 
Daily  Mail  to  get  ahead  of  the  British  gov- 
ernment in  respect  to  news  from  the  front, 
and  the  War  Department  was  often  obliged 
to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  information 
supplied  by  the  enterprising  paper. 

It  was  during  the  Boer  War  that  the 
Daily  Mail  proved  itself  to  be  unrivaled  as 
a  money  raiser.  Upon  the  purchase  by  the 
paper  of  "  The  Absent-Minded  Beggar  "  by 
Rudyard  Kipling,  this  famous  poem  was 
published  in  pamphlet  form  and  also  set  to 
music.  The  proceeds  of  copyright  fees  and 
incidental  contributions,  which  eventually 
amounted  to  five  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
were  expended  in  providing  ambulances  and 
comforts  for  soldiers,  while  the  surplus  that 
remained  was  large  enough  to  cover  the  cost 
of  building  a  hospital  for  wounded  veterans. 

Possessing  a  remarkable  news  sense,  Al- 
fred Harmsworth  always  grasped  the  pos- 
sibilities of  a  big  story  with  the  quickness 
that  characterizes  the  born  newspaperman, 


A  WONDERFUL  NEWSPAPER    157 

and  like  a  "  star  "  reporter  he  delighted  in 
going  after  an  important  story  himself. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Daily  Mail  he 
added  greatly  to  the  reputation  of  the  paper 
by  two  important  beats.  One  was  an  inter- 
view that  he  obtained  with  the  late  Cecil 
Rhodes  regarding  the  situation  in  South 
Africa  preceding  the  Boer  War.  The  "  Co- 
lossus of  South  Africa,"  as  Rhodes  was 
popularly  termed,  had  persistently  refused  to 
be  interviewed,  but  the  enterprising  owner  of 
the  Daily  Mail  managed  to  see  him  and  laid 
the  case  frankly  before  him.  "  I  have  just 
started  a  morning  paper,  Mr.  Rhodes,"  he 
said,  "  and  to  present  your  own  story  to  the 
public,  fully  and  correctly,  would  be  a  great 
advantage  to  you  and  would  be  a  great 
achievement  for  me."  Rhodes  was  so  much 
impressed  by  the  grit  of  the  youthful  pub- 
lisher that  he  forthwith  gave  him  a  full  and 
exclusive  story  which  made  a  great  sensation 
in  England  and  was  published  throughout 
the  world. 

Later  on,  when  the  Conservative  govern- 
ment was  getting  shaky  and  all  sorts  of 
rumors  were  afloat,  Alfred  Harmsworth 
again  acted  as  a  reporter,  and  scored  another 


158 NORTHCLIFFE 

beat  through  interviewing  Arthur  James 
Balfour,  then  British  prime  minister,  and 
obtaining  from  that  statesman  the  first  news 
of  his  resignation,  the  downfall  of  the  Con- 
servative government,  and  the  plans  for  a 
general  election. 

Even  in  these  days,  as  Lord  Northcliffe, 
the  famous  journalist  still  preserves  the 
reportorial  habit,  and  in  situations  of  great 
importance  he  has  occasionally  acted  as  his 
own  reporter.  For  instance,  during  the 
Home  Rule  agitation  in  Ireland  in  1914  he 
made  a  first-hand  study  of  the  problem  in 
Ulster  and  interviewed  the  leaders  on  both 
sides.  Since  the  present  war  began  he  has 
on  several  occasions  visited  the  front. 

From  the  beginning  American  news  was 
featured  conspicuously  in  the  Daily  Mail. 
An  office  was  opened  in  New  York,  with  an 
experienced  correspondent  in  charge,  and 
direct  cable  communication  with  the  London 
office  was  established.  Before  that  time  the 
London  newspapers  had  seldom  printed 
more  than  an  occasional  paragraph  of  Amer- 
ican news,  usually  obtained  from  Renter's 
Agency  and  headed  "  American  Intelli- 
gence." The  Daily  Mail  tegan  to  publish 


A  WONDERFUL  NEWSPAPER    159 

items  of  popular  interest  cabled  from  New 
York  and  sometimes  devoted  a  column  or 
more  to  accounts  of  sensational  murder 
trials,  fashionable  weddings,  new  inventions, 
and  social  movements  of  a  novel  char- 
acter. 

During  the  McKinley-Bryan  campaign 
in  1896  two  or  three  columns  daily  were 
cabled  to  the  paper,  and  at  that  time  George 
W.  Steevens  wrote  a  series  of  articles  en- 
titled "  The  Land  of  the  Dollar."  This  es- 
tablished a  precedent  for  American  election 
news,  which,  since  then,  has  been  allotted  a 
large  amount  of  space  in  the  Daily  Mail. 
A  special  news  service  was  maintained  dur- 
ing the  Spanish- American  war  in  1898,  when 
Charles  E.  Hands  was  sent  to  Cuba  with 
the  American  army.  In  recent  years  the 
paper  has  made  a  feature  of  direct  Wash- 
ington news. 

Aroused  by  the  competition  of  the  Daily 
Mail,  the  managements  of  the  other  London 
dailies  began  to  change  their  business  meth- 
ods. A  more  up-to-date  appearance  was 
given  to  these  older  papers,  and  their  pres- 
entation of  news  was  improved.  Some  of 
them  opened  New  York  offices  and  competed 


160  NORTHCLIFFE 

with  American  news,  so  that  in  course  of 
time  the  British  public  was  made  more  fa- 
miliar with  American  affairs,  to  the  manifest 
advantage  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States. 

Although  the  Daily  Mail  had  at  first  a 
clear  field,  a  rival  paper  soon  appeared. 
Within  a  year  Harmsworth's  persistent 
competitor,  Pearson,  started  a  morning 
paper  called  the  Daily  Express,  which  re- 
sembled the  Daily  Mail  in  make-up  and  con- 
tents. Pearson  even  went  a  step  further 
than  the  Daily  Mail  by  presenting  the  news 
on  the  first  page  of  his  paper,  while  Harms- 
worth  had  followed  the  English  custom  of 
devoting  the  outside  page  to  advertising. 
Eventually  the  Daily  Express  became  a 
good  property,  and  at  the  present  time  it 
has  a  large  circulation,  although  its  success 
was  never  so  pronounced  as  that  of  the 
Daily  Mail. 

In  building  up  the  enormous  circulation 
of  his  paper  Harmsworth  displayed  his 
genius  as  a  publisher  in  a  striking  way. 
Among  other  things,  he  solved  the  problem 
of  placing  the  Daily  Mail  so  promptly  in  the 
hands  of  readers  throughout  Great  Britain 


A  WONDERFUL  NEWSPAPER    161 

that  it  became  a  national  organ  and  not 
merely  a  local  newspaper.  At  Manchester, 
two  hundred  miles  north  of  London,  he 
opened  a  branch  office  with  a  printing  de- 
partment, and  there  an  exact  duplicate  of 
the  London  edition  is  produced  every  morn- 
ing, the  entire  contents  of  the  paper  being 
telegraphed  every  night  over  private  wires. 
By  means  of  special  trains  the  Manchester 
edition  is  able  to  reach  Edinburgh,  Glasgow, 
Aberdeen,  and  other  distant  places  in  time  to 
be  placed  on  the  breakfast  table  with  the 
local  newspapers.  The  London  edition  has 
its  radius  to  the  south,  covering  the  country 
as  far  as  Cornwall.  It  is  therefore  correct  to 
say  that  the  Daily  Mail  is  obtainable  every 
morning  from  Land's  End  to  John  o' 
Groat's  House. 

In  order  that  English  people  traveling  or 
residing  on  the  Continent  may  be  kept  in 
touch  with  home  and  world  affairs,  a  smaller 
yet  satisfactory  edition  of  the  Daily  Mail 
is  published  in  Paris  and  is  distributed  in 
most  parts  of  Europe.  Until  the  outbreak 
of  the  war  a  Riviera  edition  was  printed  at 
Nice  during  the  winter  season,  thus  supply- 
ing the  needs  of  thousands  of  English  read- 


162  NORTHCLIFFE 

ers  at  Monte  Carlo  and  other  resorts  on  the 
Mediterranean  coast. 

In  recent  years  the  headquarters  of  the 
Daily  Mail  have  been  at  Carmelite  House, 
near  Fleet  Street,  formerly  the  home  of  the 
Amalgamated  Press,  where  the  Evening 
News  also  is  published.  The  building  is  full 
of  mechanical  wonders,  including  the  Hoe 
presses,  the  largest  in  England.  In  the  edi- 
torial department  an  instrument  called  the 
"  electrophone "  is  occasionally  employed 
when  important  speeches  are  delivered  at 
some  distance  from  London,  which  enables 
them  to  be  instantly  recorded  by  stenogra- 
phers in  the  Daily  Mail  office,  and  to  be  set 
up  in  type  without  delay.  Late  news  is  tele- 
phoned direct  to  the  Paris  office.  In  the 
foreign  department  a  tape  machine  de- 
livers news  direct  from  New  York.  The 
circulation  department  has  a  great  array 
of  motor  wagons,  trucks,  and  bicycles  to 
facilitate  delivery  of  the  paper  to  local 
dealers. 

Through  the  enterprise  of  its  management, 
the  Daily  Mail  has  entered  intimately  into 
the  social  and  business  life  of  Great  Britain, 
a  fact  which  can  be  demonstrated  by  a  re- 


A  WONDERFUL  NEWSPAPER    163 

cital  of  just  a  few  of  its  achievements  in 
recent  years. 

This  paper  was  the  first  English  daily  to 
realize  that  the  automobile  was  not  merely 
a  toy  or  a  luxurious  convenience  but  fore- 
shadowed a  complete  transformation  in  meth- 
ods of  land  transportation.  The  publicity 
and  encouragement  it  gave  to  the  industry 
did  much  to  stimulate  English  automobile 
manufacturers  in  catching  up  with  their 
French  rivals. 

Realizing  from  the  start  the  possibilities 
of  aviation,  the  Daily  Mail  has  offered,  in 
all,  j;he  sum  of  two  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars in  cash  prizes  to  encourage  flying  con- 
tests. It  has  done  more  than  any  other  sin- 
gle agency  to  popularize  the  sport  and  to 
equip  the  British  army  and  navy  with  what 
the  present  war  has  proved  to  be  an  indis- 
pensable weapon. 

Among  the  interesting  events  of  early 
days  was  the  award  of  a  prize  of  five  thou- 
sand dollars  to  Bleriot,  who  first  succeeded 
in  crossing  the  English  Channel  on  a  trip 
from  Paris  to  London.  Another  long-dis- 
tance prize  was  awarded  for  a  flight  from 
London  to  Manchester — about  the  same  dis- 


164  NORTHCLIFFE 

tance  as  from  New  York  to  Bosfon.  r& 
prize  was  offered,  later  on,  for  a  flight  from 
London  to  Scotland  and  back,  a  distance  of 
one  thousand  miles.  The  Daily  Mail  now 
has  a  standing  offer  of  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars to  the  first  aviator  who  succeeds  in 
crossing  the  Atlantic,  the  prize  being  open 
to  aviators  of  all  nations. 

A  few -years  ago  this  enterprising  journal 
was  the  promoter  of  a  movement  to  check 
the  alarming  decline  in  British  agriculture. 
As  an  object  lesson  a  small  farm  was  stocked 
and  equipped  and  a  tenant  selected,  for  the 
purpose  of  proving  that  any  person  of  intel- 
ligence, by  adopting  the  right  methods,  could 
make  a  small  farm  yield  a  good  profit.  The 
entire  country  became  interested  in  the  ex- 
periment, which  was  remarkably  successful. 

Another  useful  project  was  the  evolution 
of  the  Daily  Mail  loaf.  The  idea  was  to 
show  that  modern  systems  of  milling  were 
producing  a  flour  which  lacked  the  nutritious 
elements  of  wheat.  Accordingly,  three  thou- 
sand dollars  was  spent  in  an  effort  to  pro- 
duce a  standardized  loaf  for  the  British  pub- 
lic, containing  at  least  eighty  per  cent  of 
the  wheat.  As  the  result  of  this  agitation  a 


distinct  and  permanent  improvement  in  the 
bread  of  the  nation  was  brought  about. 

In  recent  years  the  English  love  of  gar- 
dening was  stimulated  by  prizes  offered  by 
the  Daily  Mail,  amounting  to  five  thousand 
dollars,  for  the  finest  bunches  of  sweet  peas 
raised  in  home  gardens,  while  another  large 
sum  was  offered  for  a  new  variety  of  rose. 

Among  other  things,  the  Daily  Mail  has 
carried  on  a  campaign  for  pure  milk;  it  has 
awarded  prizes  for  the  best  designs  of  cot- 
tages and  other  small  houses ;  and  it  has  paid 
out  thousands  of  pounds  in  conducting  a 
plan  of  insurance  by  which  readers  of  the 
paper  are  indemnified  for  accidents  occur- 
ring in  public  vehicles.  A  brokerage  ex- 
change, which  has  been  established,  enables 
readers  to  buy  or  sell  stocks  without  the  red 
tape  and  heavy  charges  that  usually  char- 
acterize stock-exchange  transactions  in  Lon- 
don. 

When  taxi  cabs  were  introduced  in  Lon- 
don and  horse  cabmen  were  thrown  out  of 
employment  in  large  numbers,  the  Daily 
Mail  raised  nearly  forty  thousand  dollars  in 
a  few  days  for  their  relief.  At  the  same 
time  a  pension  scheme  for  the  older  men  was 


166 NORTHCLIFFE 

arranged,  and  over  five  hundred  cabmen  were 
trained  as  motor  drivers. 

Impressed  by  the  difficulties  of  the  blind 
in  keeping  in  touch  with  passing  events,  a 
weekly  edition  of  the  Daily  Mail  in  Braille 
type  was  started  a  few  years  ago. 

In  recent  times  the  power  of  this  live  daily 
as  a  money  raiser  has  frequently  been  evi- 
denced. In  1912,  for  instance,  over  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars  was  raised  for  the 
relief  of  the  Titanic  victims,  the  money  be- 
ing contributed  exclusively  by  women  read- 
ers of  the  paper.  During  the  war  eighty 
thousand  dollars  was  raised  in  four  days 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  Union  Jack 
Club  for  soldiers  and  sailors. 

Viewed  from  a  strictly  commercial  point 
of  view,  the  various  enterprises  and  achieve- 
ments of  the  Daily  Mail  have  proved  a  source 
of  great  profit,  by  indirectly  increasing  cir- 
culation. This,  in  turn,  has  made  possible 
the  securing  of  an  abundance  of  advertising, 
at  rates  that  range  from  fifteen  hundred  to 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars  a  page.  The 
outside  page,  which  is  naturally  the  preferred 
position,  has  been  at  times  in  such  demand 
that  advertisers  desiring  it  have  been  put  on 


A  WONDERFUL  NEWSPAPER    167 

a  waiting  list.  From  a  broader  standpoint 
the  Northcliffe  policy  of  anticipating  the  de- 
mands of  the  British  people  has  given  the 
Daily  Mail  national  prestige,  and  has  made 
the  paper  an  almost  inspired  chronicler  of 
Great  Britain's  political,  social,  and  commer- 
cial needs. 

As  Alfred  Harmsworth,  and  to-day  as 
Lord  Northcliffe,  the  guiding  spirit  of  the 
Daily  Mail  has  proved  himself  to  be  the 
most  influential  newspaper  proprietor  in  the 
British  Empire.  Much  of  his  success  has 
been  attained  by  keeping  abreast  of  popular 
movements,  and  never  being  afraid  to  change 
his  policy  in  order  to  be  in  harmony  with  the 
spirit  of  the  masses.  Whenever  he  has  seen 
the  waves  rising  from  the  level  of  the  popu- 
lace, he  has  preferred  to  go  with  the  current 
rather  than  be  overwhelmed  by  it.  His  suc- 
cess has  often  been  due  to  his  cutting  away 
from  old  moorings.  Through  his  ability  to 
look  into  the  future  and  anticipate  coming 
events,  which  has  sometimes  been  remark- 
able, he  has  surprised  the  public  by  his 
knowledge  of  affairs,  and  this  has  done  much 
to  increase  his  following. 

So  deeply  has  his  popular  newspaper  be- 


168 NORTHCLIFFE 

come  interwoven  with  tlie  fabric  of  British 
social  life  that  when  it  agitates  for  any  re- 
form the  public  response  that  follows  is  usu- 
ally too  great  to  be  ignored.  Holding  itself 
clear  outside  the  humdrum  game  of  politics 
as  played  by  other  papers,  and  viewing  is- 
sues from  a  non-partisan  standpoint,  Lord 
Northcliffe's  Daily  Mail  has  become  a  me- 
dium by  which  its  owner's  piercing  insight 
into  the  heart  of  things,  and  his  courage  to 
express  himself  regardless  of  the  views  of 
others,  have  made  his  pen  the  lash  that  has 
driven  muddlers  and  incompetents  from 
office  and  enabled  him  to  dethrone  popular 
but  inefficient  idols,  even  when  they  were  in 
the  form  of  prime  ministers  and  govern- 
ments. 


VI 
WOMEN  AND  PICTURES 

"  CHERCHEZ  la  femme  "  is  the  advice  given 
by  the  French  whenever  an  explanation  of 
most  human  mishaps  is  demanded.  And, 
strange  as  it  may  seem,  woman,  who  brought 
our  first  parent  so  much  disaster,  was  des- 
tined to  cause  the  first  halt  in  Lord  North- 
cliffe's  successful  career. 

Until  that  time  the  versatile  publisher's 
judgment  of  the  British  public's  needs  and 
desires,  as  far  as  newspapers  were  concerned, 
had  been  almost  infallible;  but  when  he  en- 
deavored to  gauge  correctly  the  mysteries  of 
the  feminine  mind  he  failed,  as  some  of  the 
greatest  figures  in  history  failed,  thus  prov- 
ing that  even  the  most  brilliant  of  men  has 
his  limitations.  How  it  all  happened  forms 
a  most  interesting  story. 

Following  the  success  of  the  Evening 
News  and  the  Daily  Mail,  Northcliffe,  or 
Alfred  Harmsworth  as  he  was  then,  became 

169 


170  NORTHCLIFFE 

imbued  with  the  idea  that  women  did  not 
read  ordinary  daily  papers  with  deep  inter- 
est because  the  reading  matter  appealed 
chiefly  to  men.  Thus  he  reached  the  con- 
clusion that  there  was  a  distinct  need  for 
a  women's  newspaper,  written  and  edited  by 
women,  and  giving  news  that  would  interest 
women  exclusively.  As  the  result  of  this 
decision,  he  started  such  a  paper  in  October, 
1903,  having  chosen  the  attractive  title,  The 
Daily  Mirror. 

Summed  up  in  a  few  words,  this  enter- 
prise proved  to  be  an  utter  failure.  And 
yet,  by  abandoning  his  original  idea  and 
bringing  into  play  his  undaunted  genius, 
Harmsworth  actually  turned  the  paper  into 
a  gigantic  success.  When  he  had  overcome 
failure  he  made  a  clean  breast  of  his  first 
defeat. 

In  an  article  entitled,  "  How  I  Lost  a 
Hundred  Thousand  Pounds"  ($500,000), 
he  said:  "  Having  for  many  years  fostered  a 
theory  that  a  daily  newspaper  for  women 
was  in  urgent  request,  I  started  one.  This 
belief  cost  me  one  hundred  thousand  pounds. 
I  found  out  that  I  was  beaten,  that  women 
did  not  want  a  paper  of  their  own.  It  was 


WOMEN  AND  PICTURES      171 

simply  another  instance  of  failure  made  by 
mere  man  in  diagnosing  woman's  needs. 
Some  people  say  that  a  woman  never  really 
knows  what  she  wants.  It  is  certain  that  she 
knew  what  she  did  not  want.  She  did  not 
want  the  Daily  Mirror  as  it  first  appeared." 

As  a  woman's  paper  the  Daily  Mirror 
was  about  the  size  of  Collier's  Weekly.  It 
was  unillustrated,  it  gave  a  condensed  sum- 
mary of  the  world's  news,  and  devoted  a 
large  amount  of  space  to  social  gossip, 
fashions,  home  chats,  and  other  topics  sup- 
posed to  be  of  foremost  interest  to  women 
readers. 

The  employment  of  a  staff  composed  en- 
tirely of  women  led  to  some  of  the  most 
amusing  incidents  in  the  whole  range  of  mod- 
ern journalism.  In  addition  to  the  ladies  of 
the  staff — editors,  copy  readers,  and  report- 
ers— two  or  three  men  were  stationed  in  the 
office  in  an  advisory  capacity.  The  latter 
soon  discovered  that  the  Mirror  was  a  "  live  " 
paper  in  more  ways  than  one. 

The  truth  is  that,  at  that  time,  the  woman 
journalist  was  comparatively  new  in  Eng- 
land, and  the  ladies  of  the  Mirror  seemed 
unable  to  separate  their  social  life  from  their 


172  NORTHCLIFFE 

business  duties.  In  this  country,  of  course, 
the  newspaper  woman  is  a  recognized  insti- 
tution, and  the  women  of  the  press  have 
proved  themselves  to  be  fully  as  capable  as 
the  men.  But  in  England,  when  the  Daily 
Mirror  was  started,  the  situation  was  dif- 
ferent. 

A  member  of  the  original  staff,  who  is 
now  engaged  in  American  newspaper  work, 
has  given  an  amusing  account  of  what  was 
witnessed  in  the  Mirror  office  in  the  early 
days.  In  relating  his  story,  he  says:  "  When 
the  paper  was  first  started,  the  editorial  de- 
partment was  the  scene  of  much  comedy, 
with  an  occasional  touch  of  tragedy.  Every 
moment  there  was  wrangling  between  the 
lady  reporters  and  editresses,  who  bounced  in 
and  out  of  the  rooms  like  the  funny  charac- 
ters in  an  English  pantomime,  more  intent 
on  squabbling  than  on  working.  Amidst  the 
banging  of  doors  would  be  heard  such  epi- 
thets as  *  creature,'  *  impossible  person,'  or 
'  cat,'  intermingled  with  angry  commands, 
such  as,  '  I  say  you  shall,'  followed  by  the 
defiant  retort,  '  I  say  I  won't.' 

'  That  wasn't  the  worst  of  it,  however. 
The  poor  males  about  the  place  were  turned 


WOMEN  AND  PICTURES      173 

into  messenger  boys  and  were  kept  running 
errands.  One  thoroughly  disciplined  and 
subdued  married  man  was  actually  enlisted 
to  do  shopping,  even  to  the  extent  of  match- 
ing ribbons.  All  the  ladies  stopped  work  to 
have  their  tea  at  five  o'clock  every  afternoon, 
no  matter  how  exciting  the  news  might  be. 
Sometimes  one  of  the  men  would  be  sent  out 
to  buy  them  cakes  and  other  eatables.  Then 
the  ladies  divided  themselves  into  little 
cliques  and  one  set  wouldn't  speak  to  another 
set. 

"  One  afternoon,  at  tea  time,  the  city 
editress  rushed  into  the  reporters'  room  and 
announced  that  there  was  a  big  fire  near  the 
Mansion  House  (the  official  residence  of 
London's  Lord  Mayor) .  '  One  of  you  ladies 
will  have  to  cover  the  story,'  she  said.  The 
lady  reporters  took  no  notice  of  the  inter- 
ruption beyond  remarking  that  the  editress 
was  '  a  most  extraordinary  person,'  and  went 
on  discussing  their  social  affairs.  When,  at 
last,  the  editress  returned  and  raised  a  rum- 
pus, each  reporter  declared  that  she  couldn't 
possibly  go  to  the  fire  because  she  had  an  im- 
portant engagement  elsewhere.  One  of  the 
men  had  to  cover  the  assignment.  That  was 


174  NORTHCLIFFE 

a  typical  incident.  The  lady  reporters  had 
absolutely  no  news  sense.  All  they  could 
talk  about  was  dress,  social  functions,  and 
women's  wrongs." 

Among  the  men  who  kept  an  eye  on  the 
Mirror  was  an  able  journalist  named  Bolton, 
who  usually  had  charge  of  the  paper  at  night 
when  it  went  to  press.  Among  other  duties, 
he  was  authorized  to  settle  disputes  among 
the  women  and  preserve  order.  To  have 
filled  such  a  position  satisfactorily  would 
have  required  the  cunning  of  Machiavelli, 
the  grace  of  Don  Juan,  and  the  wisdom  of 
Socrates,  a  combination  of  qualities  which,  of 
course,  no  man  on  earth  ever  possessed. 
The  result  was  that  purgatory  itself  would 
have  been  a  paradise  in  comparison  with 
what  Bolton  had  to  endure.  There  were, 
for  instance,  frequent  disputes  among  the 
ladies  as  to  assignments,  and  the  space  that 
stories  should  fill.  Rows  on  these  subjects 
were  constantly  in  progress.  One  evening  a 
friend  of  Bolton's,  who  happened  to  call  at 
;the  Mirror  office,  found  him  surrounded  by  a 
phalanx  of  angry  women. 

"  Do  you  realize,  Mr.  Bolton,"  exclaimed 
one  of  them,  "  that  I  have  been  working  for 


WOMEN  AND  PICTURES      175 

hours  on  this  story,  and  it  ought  to  fill  at 
least  two  columns;  but  that  indescribable 
person  over  there  (indicating  the  city  edi- 
tress) has  actually  cut  it  down  to  two 
inches?" 

"  My  dear  madam,"  replied  Bolton,  "  I 
have  been  a  reporter  myself,  and  sometimes 
when  I  had  worked  a  whole  day  on  a  story 
it  never  appeared  at  all." 

"  That  may  be  true,"  retorted  the  lady 
reporter  icily,  "  but  my  story  is  a  good 
story." 

Several  other  ladies,  holding  proof  sheets, 
then  broke  into  the  discussion  with  various 
complaints,  all  talking  at  once.  In  the  midst 
of  the  altercation  the  managing  editress  burst 
through  the  group  like  a  human  cyclone,  re- 
marking excitedly:  "Now,  Mr.  Bolton, 
you'll  have  to  decide  what  to  do." 

Here  was  a  highly  modernized  version  of 
that  classic  fiction,  the  judgment  of  Paris, 
but  poor  Bolton  was  hard  pressed  in  at- 
tempting to  follow  the  precedent.  "  I  shall 
have  to  refer  these  matters,"  he  groaned  eva- 
sively, as  he  rubbed  his  aching  head.  He 
knew  only  too  well  that  there  was  no  one  to 
whom  he  could  refer  the  disputes.  When 


176  NORTHCLIFFE 

his  friend  left  he  was  still  arguing,  and  there 
seemed  to  be  no  end  to  the  discussion. 

It  is  not  surprising  that,  some  months 
later,  Bolton,  a  complete  nervous  wreck,  re- 
tired to  a  farm  to  raise  poultry  and  follow 
other  restful  pursuits.  His  experience  on 
the  women's  paper  had  been  too  much  for 
him.  He  never  returned  to  journalism,  and 
in  his  household  the  Daily  Mirror  is  a  sub- 
ject tabooed. 

The  wrangling  of  the  women  editors  and 
reporters  was  not  occasional  but  continuous; 
harmonious  cooperation  was  found  to  be  im- 
possible, and  personal  animosities  and  petty 
rivalries  held  sway.  In  fact,  the  Mirror  office 
was  distinguished  by  much  the  same  lack  of 
a  definite  policy  as  distinguished  the  Bandar- 
log in  Kipling's  "  Jungle  Book." 

The  box  office  receipts  furnish  the  best 
evidence  of  a  theatre's  prosperity;  in  the 
newspaper  world  circulation  is  the  test  of 
popularity.  Judged  from  this  standpoint, 
the  outlook  for  the  Daily  Mirror  was  far 
from  encouraging.  The  paper  had  started 
with  a  circulation  of  nearly  half  a  million, 
but  each  day  witnessed  a  greater  falling  off, 
until  the  profits  were  swept  away  like  leaves 


in  a  wintry  blast.  This  was  serious.  For 
while  a  successful  newspaper  can  soon 
build  up  a  fortune  for  its  owner,  a  fail- 
ure has  a  prodigious  faculty  of  devouring 
money,  and  can  gobble  down  thousands  of 
golden  coin  with  the  same  ease  that  a 
Broadway  spendthrift  gets  rid  of  a  ten- 
dollar  bill. 

It  was  undoubtedly  a  unique  and  dis- 
agreeable experience  for  Alfred  Harms  worth 
to  be  dipping  into  his  exchequer  in  response 
to  the  unceasing  cry  from  the  Daily  Mirror 
for  money  and  still  more  money.  It  was, 
however,  a  demand  that  continued  for  only 
a  short  time,  for  the  shrewd  publisher  speed- 
ily came  to  the  conclusion  that,  for  the  first 
time,  he  was  beaten. 

"  How  is  the  patient? "  Harold  Harms- 
worth  was  asked,  one  day,  by  a  friend  who 
thus  jokingly  referred  to  the  Mirror, 

"  Very  low,  indeed,"  he  replied,  adapting 
his  answer  to  fitting  similes.  "  Her  circula- 
tion is  very  bad,  it's  constantly  getting  worse, 
and  I'm  afraid  she's  going  to  die." 

"  She  won't  die,"  Alfred  Harmsworth 
broke  in,  pugnaciously.  '  There  must  be 
some  cure,  and  we  shall  find  it  yet,"  he 


178  NORTHCLIFFE 

added,  showing  in  a  phrase  his  great  quali- 
ties, optimism  and  determination. 

Then  again  there  came  to  his  rescue  that 
sixth  sense, — if  so  it  may  be  termed, — the 
instinct  that  had  been  his  since  he  started  his 
first  paper.  He  put  to  himself  the  question 
he  had  so  often  asked  and  answered:  What 
do  the  people  want  in  the  way  of  news- 
papers? The  Daily  Mail  supplies  the  morn- 
ing news,  and  the  Evening  News  covers  the 
later  happenings.  A  morning  or  evening 
newspaper  would  naturally  compete  and  thus 
divide  the  field  and  profits.  Now,  what  is 
there  that  we  haven't  already  got? 

As  he  surveyed  the  situation  closely,  the 
big  idea  suddenly  occurred  to  him,  that  peo- 
ple like  pictures! 

Beyond  an  occasional  portrait,  the  London 
dailies  seldom  contained  any  illustrations. 
The  Daily  Mail  had  owed  part  of  its  suc- 
cess to  having  illustrated  some  of  its  articles. 
The  continuous  success  of  the  Illustrated 
London  News  and  the  Graphic  had  shown 
that  a  big  demand  existed  for  weekly  illus- 
trated papers.  There  was  also,  at  that  time, 
an  illustrated  daily  paper,  the  Daily 
Graphic,  which  had  been  running  for  several 


WOMEN  AND  PICTURES      179 

years  with  moderate  success.  That  paper, 
however,  used  line  drawings  instead  of  re- 
productions of  photographs,  so  that  its 
novelty  was  slight.  Elaborating  this  idea, 
Harmsworth  decided,  at  last,  that  he  would 
change  the  Daily  Mirror  into  an  illustrated 
paper,  using  halftone  reproductions  of  photo- 
graphs, and  in  supplying  its  contents  would 
make  use  of  the  cameras  of  photographers 
instead  of  the  pencils  of  reporters. 

His  next  idea  was  to  use  halftone  illus- 
trations on  almost  every  page,  and  to  con- 
dense the  reading  matter — the  ordinary  news 
of  the  day — into  the  smallest  possible  limits. 
The  policy  of  getting  the  first  news,  which 
had  been  followed  with  such  success  in  the 
case  of  the  Daily  Mail,  would  be  adopted  in 
obtaining  Daily  Mirror  illustrations.  The 
editorial  staff  would  be  ordered  to  get  the 
first  photographs  illustrating  important 
events. 

When  these  ideas  had  been  worked  out, 
Harmsworth  reorganized  the  Daily  Mirror 
office.  The  lady  editresses  and  reporters  de- 
parted, and  their  places  were  taken  by  a 
staff  of  live  young  men.  At  the  same  time, 
photographic  and  photo-engraving  depart- 


180  NORTHCLIFFE 

ments  were  started,  and  presses  of  a  special 
type  were  installed  to  print  the  new  illus- 
trated paper.  Instead  of  employing  a  num- 
ber of  writers  and  reporters,  the  energetic 
publisher  organized  a  corps  of  photographers 
to  cover  events  in  Great  Britain,  while  in 
place  of  correspondents,  photographic  repre- 
sentatives were  appointed  in  all  parts  of  the 
world.  tThus  it  was  impossible  for  an  im- 
portant event  to  occur  anywhere  without  the 
Mirror  being  in  a  position  to  obtain  the  first 
and  best  pictures. 

The  illustrated  Mirror,  somewhat  reduced 
in  size,  but  with  more  pages,  was  issued  at 
the  end  of  1903.  It  proved  an  immediate 
success.  When  the  change  was  made  the 
circulation  had  dropped  to  20,000,  but  the 
new  paper  started  off  with  a  circulation  of 
60,000,  which  was  soon  increased  to  100,000. 
As  a  woman's  paper  the  Mirror  had  cost  a 
penny  (two  cents).  As  a  picture  paper  the 
price  was  reduced  to  a  halfpenny. 

Once  the  paper  was  started  and  meeting 
with  encouragement,  no  expense  was  spared 
in  making  it  a  success.  For  the  first  time 
in  British  journalism,  or  in  the  journalism 
of  the  world  for  that  matter,  photographic 


WOMEN  AND  PICTURES      181 

beats  became  as  important  as  news  beats. 
Nothing  was  thought  of  hiring  special  trains 
to  get  a  handful  of  pictures  to  the  Daily 
Mirror  office  in  time  to  illustrate  some  im- 
portant news  story.  Photographers  were 
dispatched  to  all  parts  of  the  world  on  spe- 
cial missions,  just  as  newspaper  correspond- 
ents are  sent  to  write  descriptive  articles. 
When,  for  example,  the  situation  in  China 
seemed  to  be  precipitating  trouble,  a  few 
years  ago,  a  Daily  Mirror  photographer  was 
sent  there  to  snap  everything  of  interest  and 
await  results,  so  that  the  Mirror  was  not 
only  supplied  with  a  complete  set  of  photo- 
graphs of  Chinese  scenes  and  notables,  but  a 
man  was  on  hand  with  his  camera,  ready  for 
action  if  anything  important  happened. 

When  Colonel  Roosevelt  went  on  his  Afri- 
can hunting  trip,  a  Daily  Mirror  photogra- 
pher accompanied  his  expedition,  and  the 
American  newspapers  were  dependent  on  the 
enterprise  of  the  London  paper  for  their  pic- 
tures of  the  mighty  hunter  in  the  depths  of 
the  jungle. 

The  first  bulletin  of  the  Messina  earth- 
quake had  no  sooner  reached  the  Mirror 
office  than  a  staff  photographer  was  rushed 


182  NORTHCLIFFE 

to  the  scene  of  the  disaster.  So  quick  was 
the  action  of  the  Mirror  that  it  not  only 
printed  the  first  photographs  showing  the 
effects  of  the  earthquake,  but  it  actually 
cleared  eight  thousand  dollars  by  selling 
duplicate  sets  to  continental  newspapers, 
even  including  some  of  the  Italian  journals. 

During  the  Turkish-Italian  War,  a  Daily 
Mirror  photographer  chartered  an  ocean 
steamer,  the  only  vessel  obtainable  in  Italian 
waters,  to  take  him  to  Tripoli.  He  was  the 
first  to  arrive  there,  and  established  a  historic 
precedent  by  leaping  ashore,  hiring  a  cab, 
and  giving  the  order :  "  Drive  me  to  the  bat- 
tlefield." 

When  King  George  went  to  India  to  hold 
a  durbar  and  assume  the  crown  as  Emperor 
of  India,  a  Mirror  photographer  was  sent 
ahead  to  make  arrangements  for  getting  a 
complete  set  of  pictures  illustrating  this  im- 
portant ceremony. 

During  the  present  war  the  photographic 
beats  of  the  Mirror  have  been  innumerable, 
the  camera  men  having  been  stationed  on  all 
parts  of  the  fighting  line.  Some  of  them 
have  taken  photographs  at  the  risk  of  their 
lives,  and  have  outrivaled  newspaper  corre- 


WOMEN  AND  PICTURES      183 

spondents  in  their  efforts  to  record  important 
events. 

When  the  Mirror  was  first  changed  into 
an  illustrated  paper,  various  ingenious  de- 
vices were  employed  to  increase  its  circu- 
lation. Here  again  Alfred  Harmsworth 
showed  that  his  skill  in  promoting  novel 
"  boosting "  schemes  was  as  great  as  ever. 
Among  other  things,  a  special  performance 
was  given  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  a  huge 
amusement  building  on  the  outskirts  of  Lon- 
don, to  which  free  admission  was  obtained 
by  presenting  coupons  clipped  from  the 
Daily  Mirror.  To  carry  out  this  idea  cost 
less  than  five  hundred  dollars,  but  the  effect 
on  circulation  was  incalculable.  Widespread 
interest  was  also  aroused  by  the  first  non- 
stop automobile  test  of  two  thousand  miles 
on  a  course  around  Great  Britain,  which 
was  conducted  by  the  paper.  This  lifted  the 
circulation  still  higher. 

A  year  after  the  paper  was  reorganized,  it 
was  announced  that  Mirror  photographers 
would  appear  at  various  seaside  resorts  and 
at  each  place  a  group  of  people  on  the  beach 
would  be  photographed.  To  every  person 
whose  face  appeared  in  the  published  photo- 


184  NORTHCLIFFE 

graphs  the  Mirror  would  present  five  shil- 
lings ($1.25)  and  a  silver-mounted  fountain 
pen.  The  result  was  that  the  photographers 
were  literally  mobbed  by  people  anxious  to 
be  photographed,  and  in  some  instances  were 
badly  bruised.  At  Ramsgate,  on  one  occa- 
sion, the  camera  man  was  pushed  into  the 
sea,  washed  away  with  his  camera,  and  al- 
most drowned. 

Beauty  contests,  with  big  money  prizes, 
which  gave  opportunities  for  theatrical 
preferment,  were  also  introduced  with  great 
success. 

Like  the  clever  diagnostician  that  he  was, 
Harms  worth  had  discerned  just  what  the 
public  wanted.  Promoted  by  a  corps  of  ex- 
pert circulation  men,  who  traveled  all  over 
Great  Britain,  the  Daily  Mirror  was  at  last 
made  a  tremendous  success.  Within  a  year 
the  paper  which,  in  a  few  months,  had  cost 
its  founder  five  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
and  had  once  been  at  the  point  of  death,  was 
showing  a  profit  of  over  seven  thousand  dol- 
lars a  week  and  increasing  daily  in  popu- 
larity. 

It  is  a  curious  and  interesting  psychologi- 
cal reflection  that  the  women  who  had  shown 


WOMEN  AND  PICTURES      185 

so  plainly  that  they  would  not  have  the  origi- 
nal woman-made  and  woman-conducted 
Daily  Mirror  now  formed  the  bulk  of  the 
supporters  of  the  picture  paper.  At  the 
present  day  any  observer  who  travels  in  the 
London  subway  trains  or  on  the  motor  busses 
during  the  morning  hours  will  invariably  no- 
tice that  half  the  women  passengers  carry 
copies  of  the  Mirror,  and  while  most  of  them 
pay  little  attention  to  the  reading  matter 
every  one  of  them  takes  an  obvious  delight 
in  the  pictures. 

In  the  case  of  the  Daily  Mirror  Harms- 
worth's  strong  common  sense  was  shown  by 
his  realization  that,  figuratively  speaking,  the 
way  to  get  past  a  stone  wall  is  not  by  at- 
tempting to  break  through  it  but  by  finding 
a  way  over  or  around  it.  He  displayed  the 
same  good  judgment  in  his  method  of  deal- 
ing with  a  Sunday  edition  of  the  Daily  Mail. 

At  that  time  the  English  Sunday  news- 
papers, although  prosperous  enough  and  hav- 
ing fairly  large  circulations,  were  mostly 
wretched  affairs,  consisting  chiefly  of  a  re- 
hash of  the  week's  news,  while  special  features 
were  provided  by  stories  of  crime  and  reports 
of  unsavory  divorce  cases.  Alfred  Harms- 


186  NORTHCLIFFE 

worth  decided  to  present  something  hetter  by 
issuing  a  Sunday  edition  of  his  popular  daily. 
As  soon  as  this  appeared,  however,  a  great 
outcry  was  made  against  it  hy  religious  peo- 
ple all  over  the  country,  largely  abetted  by 
rival  newspapers.  '  The  Daily  Mail  is 
desecrating  the  Sabbath,"  it  was  declared. 
Furthermore,  it  was  shown  that  while  the 
Harmsworth  periodicals  included  certain 
religious  publications  that  advocated  the  ob- 
servance of  a  Christian  Sabbath,  a  Harms- 
worth  newspaper  was  actually  breaking  the 
Sabbath. 

It  was  in  vain  that  the  publisher  pointed 
out  that  the  existing  Sunday  papers  were 
printed  on  Saturday  night,  and  that  the 
Daily  Mail  was  merely  following  the  same 
course.  Opposition  increased,  and  the  con- 
troversy became  so  embittered  that,  acceding 
to  the  public's  verdict,  Harmsworth  stopped 
the  publication  of  the  Sunday  edition. 

Some  time  later,  he  succeeded  in  his  pur- 
pose of  issuing  a  modernized  Sunday  edition 
when  he  purchased  and  transformed  the 
Weekly  Dispatch,  a  Sunday  newspaper  that 
had  been  founded  in  1803.  Like  the  Eve- 
ning News  before  its  revitalization  under 


WOMEN  AND  PICTURES      187 

Harmsworth  management,  the  Weekly  Dis- 
patch had  experienced  frequent  changes  of 
ownership  and  its  circulation  had  been  de- 
creasing for  several  years.  As  soon  as 
Harmsworth  took  it  in  hand  it  was  changed 
into  a  live,  successful  paper,  while  all  objec- 
tionable features  were  eliminated.  Thus  it 
found  its  way  into  the  homes  of  people  who 
had  hitherto  objected  to  reading  a  Sunday 
edition. 

In  this  way  Harmsworth  gained  his  point, 
and  not  only  obtained  his  Sunday  news- 
paper, but  at  the  same  time  overcame  the 
bitter  antagonism  which  had  been  aroused 
by  his  endeavor  to  publish  a  Sunday  edition 
of  the  Daily  Mail.  Furthermore,  his  wide 
vision  had  foreseen  the  difficulties  of  Sunday 
distribution  and  he  had  prepared  to  meet 
them.  On  week  days  special  newspaper 
trains  carry  the  London  newspapers  to  all 
parts  of  the  United  Kingdom,  but  on  Sun- 
days the  rigorous  blue  laws,  framed  long  ago 
by  the  preservers  of  the  sanctity  of  the  Brit- 
ish Sabbath,  prevent  the  running  of  such 
trains.  To  overcome  this  obstacle,  Hawns- 
worth  immediately  organized  a  system  of 
distribution  by  means  of  swift  motor  trucks, 


188  NORTHCLIFFE 

which  covered  a  wide  radius  in  supplying  the 
Weekly  Dispatch  to  news  dealers. 

This  attention  to  important  matters  on  the 
part  of  Alfred  Harmsworth  had  always  been 
typical  of  his  working  methods,  his  habit  be- 
ing to  concentrate  his  mind  on  the  big  things 
while  leaving  the  minor  details  to  subordi- 
nates. To-day,  as  Lord  Northcliffe,  he  has 
been  enabled  to  retain  his  energy  and  capa- 
city for  work  even  with  the  increasing  de- 
mands upon  his  business  hours.  Each  new 
child  of  his  creation  has  in  turn  received  his 
parental  care  as  if  it  had  been  his  only  off- 
spring, and  yet,  at  the  same  time,  he  has 
never  neglected  any  member  of  his  brood, 
no  matter  how  thriving  it  might  be.  Neglect, 
as  he  knows,  might  cause  one  of  his  charges 
to  drift  into  bad  habits,  and  bad  habits  natu- 
rally result  in  deterioration  in  periodicals  and 
newspapers  just  as  they  cause  the  downfall 
of  human  beings.  Northcliffe,  therefore,  has 
given  his  closest  attention  to  all  his  impor- 
tant publications,  with  that  cosmic  grasp  of 
the  essential  which  distinguishes  the  man  who 
is  really  great. 

In  the  case  of  the  Daily  Mirror  he  was 
a  stern  censor  of  the  photographs  that  were 


WOMEN  AND  PICTURES     189 

presented  for  publication,  and  insisted  on  the 
highest  standard  of  morality  being  observed. 
The  idea  of  gaining  circulation  by  appeals  to 
the  morbid  or  abnormal  was,  therefore, 
strictly  condemned  by  him.  How  closely  he 
kept  watch  on  any  tendency  in  this  direction 
one  instance  will  suffice  to  show. 

The  editor  of  the  Daily  Mirror  had  ar- 
ranged, at  great  expense,  to  get  by  special 
messenger  photographs  of  the  championship 
fight  between  Jeffries  and  Johnson  at  Carson 
City,  Nevada.  In  the  meantime  the  British 
news  dealers,  having  been  informed  of  this 
impending  feature,  ordered  over  1,250,000 
copies  of  the  prize-fight  edition.  Just  as  the 
paper  was  going  to  press  Lord  Northcliffe 
sent  for  the  proof  sheets  and  examined  them 
carefully.  Then  he  reached  an  unexpected 
decision.  "  Don't  print  one  of  those  fight 
photographs,"  he  jtold  the  editor.  "  I  don't 
think  it  is  wise  to  glorify  the  victory  of  a 
negro  over  a  white  man,  and  besides  the  pic- 
tures themselves  are  likely  to  prove  offensive 
to  our  decent  women  readers." 

At  the  last  moment  the  whole  paper  was 
changed,  and  it  appeared  the  next  day  with- 
out a  single  fight  picture.  The  disappoint- 


190  NORTHCLIFFE 

ment  to  news  dealers,  the  temporary  loss  of 
circulation,  and  the  futile  expense  incurred 
in  obtaining  the  photographs  were,  however, 
minor  incidentals  to  the  owner  of  the  Daily 
Mirror.  Whether  Northcliffe's  prophetic  in- 
tuition discerned  the  wretched  career  of 
Johnson  in  after  years,  his  escape  from  this 
country  to  avoid  prosecution,  and  his  flight 
from  England  since  the  war,  under  threats 
of  deportation,  it  is  impossible  to  say, 
but  in  this  case  the  great  journalist's  edi- 
torial judgment  proved  to  be  remarkably 
sound. 

As  explained  in  a  previous  chapter,  Lord 
Northcliffe,  from  the  start,  arranged  for  the 
complete  separation  of  his  periodical  and 
newspaper  interests.  The  former,  it  will  be 
recalled,  was  incorporated  as  a  limited  com- 
pany known  as  the  Amalgamated  Press. 
The  Daily  Mail,  the  Evening  News,  and  the 
Weekly  Dispatch  (which  are  popularly 
termed  the  "  Northcliffe  press ")  are  also 
controlled  by  a  stock  company  entitled  the 
Associated  Newspapers,  Limited,  while  the 
Daily  Mirror  forms  a  separate  organization 
called  the  Pictorial  Newspaper  Company. 
After  the  newspaper  companies  were  organ- 


WOMEN  AND  PICTURES     191 

ized,  members  of  the  staffs  were  given  an 
opportunity  to  buy  shares  at  attractive  prices 
on  the  installment  plan. 

In  this  connection  it  is  of  interest  to  add 
that  the  system  of  profit  sharing  which 
Northcliffe,  as  Alfred  Harmsworth,  had  in- 
troduced so  successfully  into  his  periodical 
business,  was  continued  with  equal  success  in 
the  direction  of  his  newspapers.  Among  the 
instances  of  men  who  became  wealthy  as  the 
result  of  this  system  the  following  may  be 
mentioned : 

Lord  Rothermere,  as  Harold  Harms- 
worth,  was  associated  with  his  brother's  news- 
paper business  from  the  start.  To-day  he  is 
reputed  to  be  the  wealthiest  member  of  the 
Harmsworth  family.  Some  years  ago  he  be- 
came a  newspaper  owner  on  his  own  account, 
and  he  now  owns  several  important  provin- 
cial journals,  such  as  the  Sheffield  Mercury 
and  the  Glasgow  Record. 

Kennedy  Jones,  or  "  K.  J.,"  as  he  is  still 
popularly  known  in  London  newspaper  cir- 
cles, was  also  favored  by  fortune.  After 
obtaining  his  interest  in  the  Evening  News 
and  the  editorship  of  that  paper,  as  related 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  he  became  associ- 


192  NORTHCLIFFE 

ated  with  Alfred  Harmsworth's  other  ven- 
tures in  the  newspaper  world,  and  thus  ac- 
quired interests  in  the  Daily  Mail,  the  Daily 
Mirror,  and  the  Weekly  Dispatch.  A  few 
years  ago  he  retired  from  newspaper  life 
after  disposing  of  his  various  interests.  To- 
day he  is  a  man  of  millions. 

Thomas  Marlowe,  editor  of  the  Daily 
Mail,  who  has  directed  the  paper  for  many 
years,  is  said  to  enjoy  an  income,  through  his 
salary  and  bonuses,  in  comparison  with  which 
the  much-discussed  salary  of  Arthur  Bris- 
bane would  appear  small. 

Alec  Kenealy,  who  was  appointed  editor 
of  the  Daily  Mirror  when  the  paper  was 
changed  from  a  woman's  daily  into  a  picture 
paper,  displayed  great  ability  as  a  jour- 
nalist, having  been  trained  in  American 
newspaper  methods.  When  he  died  a  few 
years  ago  he  had  accumulated  a  large  for- 
tune. 

Pomeroy  Burton,  another  American  news- 
paperman, who  took  charge  of  the  business 
department  of  the  Daily  Mail  in  recent 
years,  also  became  a  millionaire. 

As  a  sequel  to  the  incidents  recorded  in 
this  chapter  it  may  be  added  that  the  Weekly 


Lord  Rothermere 

(Harold  Harmsworth) 

A  power  in  the  financial  world,  brother  of 
Lord  Northcliffe 


WOMEN  AND  PICTURES     193 

Dispatch  is  published  at  Carmelite  House, 
the  headquarters  of  the  Daily  Mail  and  Eve- 
ning News.  By  a  strange  coincidence,  the 
Daily  Mirror,  although  a  great  success,  has 
its  offices  in  a  building  which  was  associated 
with  a  journalistic  failure.  The  Mirror 
Building  in  Bouverie  Street,  a  few  doors 
from  Fleet  Street,  was  erected  about  ten 
years  ago  by  the  promoters  of  a  new  morn- 
ing paper,  the  Daily  Tribune,  which  proved 
to  be  a  losing  venture.  The  owners  of  this 
paper  unwisely  failed  to  profit  by  the  experi- 
ence of  the  Daily  Mail  and,  instead  of  issu- 
ing a  paper  of  compact  size,  adopted  the 
blanket-sheet  style  and  antiquated  make-up 
that  distinguished  the  old-fashioned  London 
dailies.  As  might  have  been  expected  the 
paper  failed  to  make  a  hit,  and  after  a  brief 
and  unprofitable  career  it  ceased  publi- 
cation. 

The  fact  that  the  Daily  Mirror  is  pub- 
lished in  what  was  once  the  home  of  the  ill- 
fated  Tribune  has  had  no  evil  effect  on  its 
fortunes.  Its  popularity  has  steadily  in- 
creased, while  its  circulation,  at  times,  has 
exceeded  a  million.  In  recent  years  the 
paper  has  experienced  a  change  of  owner- 


194  NORTHCLIFFE 

ship,  which  occurred  when  Harold  Harms- 
worth  desired  to  become  a  peer,  an  honor 
that  had  already  been  conferred  upon  his 
brother.  Harold  Harmsworth  had  long  been 
known  as  an  enthusiastic  Liberal,  while  Lord 
Northcliffe  is  an  equally  staunch  Conserva- 
tive. There  was  consequently  some  difficulty 
over  the  bestowal  of  a  peerage  on  Harold 
Harmsworth  by  the  Liberal  government,  as 
long  as  he  held  a  large  interest  in  the  Daily 
Mail,  which  is  nominally  Conservative  in 
tone.  To  overcome  this  objection,  so  the 
story  goes,  Harold  Harmsworth  disposed  of 
his  interests  in  the  Daily  Mail  and  purchased 
the  Daily  Mirror  from  his  brother,  possibly 
with  the  idea  of  making  it  a  Liberal 
organ. 

Tjnder  its  new  ownership,  the  paper  has 
maintained  its  popularity  as  well  as  the  high 
standard  of  its  contents.  Since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war  a  Sunday  edition  has  been 
issued,  entitled  the  Sunday  Pictorial,  and  so 
eager  is  the  British  public  to  get  war  news 
and  war  pictures  that  no  objection  to  its 
publication  has  been  raised.  The  same  is 
true,  however,  of  most  of  the  London  news- 
papers, which,  owing  to  the  demand  for  war 


WOMEN  AND  PICTURES      195 

news,  have  issued  Sunday  editions  regularly 
during  the  last  three  years.  It  seems  quite 
possible  that  when  the  war  is  over  the  Sun- 
day newspaper  will  have  been  established  in 
England  as  a  permanent  institution. 


VII 
"  THE  THUNDERER  " 

WHEN  Alfred  Harmsworth  as  a  youth  of 
twenty-three  had  confidently  predicted  that 
some  day  he  would  be  at  the  head  of  a  large 
periodical  business  and  own  a  daily  news- 
paper, besides  having  a  seat  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  he  could  scarcely  have  imagined  that 
in  less  than  nineteen  years  his  ambitions 
would  be  realized.  And  yet,  in  1906,  he  had 
become  Lord  Northcliff  e,  he  was  at  the  head 
of  the  largest  publishing  business  in  the 
world,  and  he  owned  some  highly  successful 
newspapers.  Nevertheless,  he  still  lacked 
the  crowning  realization  of  his  early  dreams, 
the  ownership  of  the  London  Times. 

At  that  time  it  would  have  seemed  impos- 
sible for  Northcliffe  to  gain  control  of  the 
world-famous  newspaper.  In  spite  of  his 
wealth  and  success,  he  appeared  to  the  con- 
servative classes  in  England  to  be  identified 
with  yellow  journalism,  and  for  that  reason 

196 


"THE  THUNDERER"         197 

the  possibility  of  his  becoming  the  owner  of 
The  Times  would  have  been  regarded  by 
them  as  nothing  less  than  a  national  calam- 
ity. For  over  a  hundred  years  The  Times 
had  remained  in  the  possession  of  the  Walter 
family,  descendants  of  the  founder,  and  the 
mere  suggestion  of  changing  its  ownership 
would  have  appeared  hardly  less  startling 
than  a  proposal  to  change  the  reigning  house 
of  Britain. 

Great  was  the  astonishment,  therefore, 
when  the  newspapers  one  day,  toward  the 
end  of  1906,  announced  that  Lord  North- 
cliffe  had  purchased  The  Times  and  was 
preparing  to  take  an  active  part  in  its  man- 
agement. The  manner  in  which  the  enter- 
prising publisher  obtained  control  of  the 
paper  which  Abraham  Lincoln  once  declared 
to  be  "  the  most  powerful  thing  in  the  world 
excepting  the  Mississippi "  furnishes  a  strik- 
ing illustration  of  the  relentless  persistency, 
shrewdness,  and  subtlety  which  have  en- 
abled him  to  achieve  most  of  his  aims. 

Probably  no  man  in  England  had  realized 
more  thoroughly  than  Northcliffe  himself 
the  antagonism  with  which  he  was  regarded 
by  the  so-called  conservative  classes,  and  that 


198  NORTHCLIFFE 

the  mere  rumor  that  he  was  planning  to  get 
control  of  The  Times  would  have  been  suf- 
ficient to  array  powerful  influences  against 
him  and  render  the  feat  impossible. 

It  was  known  in  1906  that  members  of  the 
Walter  family,  who  headed  a  private  syndi- 
cate which  controlled  The  Times,  were  de- 
sirous of  finding  a  suitable  purchaser. 
Shortly  afterwards  the  announcement  was 
made  that  Cyril  Arthur  Pearson,  North- 
cliffe's  plodding  rival,  had  obtained  control 
of  the  paper.  Here  it  may  be  explained  that 
although  Pearson  also  was  regarded  as  a  yel- 
low journalist  by  the  ultra-conservatives,  he 
was  admitted  to  be  of  a  milder  type  than 
Northcliffe,  and  therefore,  while  the  elect 
regretted  exceedingly  that  The  Times  should 
have  fallen  upon  such  evil  days,  yet  their 
regret  was  tempered  with  the  satisfaction 
that  Pearson's  acquisition  of  the  paper  had, 
at  least,  prevented  Northcliffe  from  becom- 
ing its  owner. 

How  did  it  happen,  then,  that  North- 
cliffe was  able  to  emerge  triumphantly  after 
all?  The  answer  is  that  unknown  to  Pear- 
son, or  even  to  the  owners  of  The  Times 
themselves,  he  had  quietly  purchased,  through 


"THE  THUNDERER"         199 

a  confidential  agent,  a  majority  of  the  Times 
stock,  which  was  in  the  hands  of  sixty-eight 
holders.  Pearson  had  obtained  a  certain 
amount  of  stock  and  supposed  that  the  re- 
mainder was  practically  in  his  hands.  At 
the  last  moment,  however,  he  was  check- 
mated by  the  wily  Northcliffe. 

During  his  negotiations  for  the  purchase 
of  the  stock  Northcliffe,  apparently  to  con- 
ceal his  moves,  let  it  be  announced  that  he 
had  left  for  the  Continent.  He  went,  in 
fact,  to  Boulogne,  where  he  met  Moberly 
Bell,  the  general  manager  of  The  Times, 
who  was  assisting  him  to  get  control  of  the 
paper.  The  scene  of  the  conference  was  the 
Hotel  Christol.  In  referring  to  the  incident 
in  recent  times,  Northcliffe  said :  "  I  am  at- 
tached to  the  old  hotel  because  of  the  fact 
that  it  was  there,  far  from  the  madding 
crowd  and  the  observant  eyes  of  Fleet  Street, 
that  Mr.  Bell  and  I  concluded  negotiations 
by  which  I  became  associated  with  The 
Times." 

It  may  be  added  that  Pearson's  attempt 
to  get  possession  of  The  Times.,  and  his  sub- 
sequent failure,  marked  the  end  of  his  rivalry 
with  Northcliffe.  At  that  time  he  owned 


200  NORTHCLIFFE 

the  Daily  Express.  He  had  also  become 
owner  of  the  Standard  and  the  St.  James' 
Gazette,  the  latter  an  evening  newspaper. 
Under  his  management  the  Standard^  which 
was  one  of  the  old  London  dailies,  was  mod- 
ernized and  advertised,  but  it  failed  to  be- 
come a  money  maker,  and  ultimately  went 
out  of  existence.  In  recent  years  Pearson, 
having  lost  his  eyesight,  disposed  of  his 
newspaper  interests.  During  the  war  he 
has  headed  a  movement  for  the  aid  of 
blind  soldiers.  As  a  recognition  of  his 
public  services  he  was  given  the  title  of 
baronet. 

The  rivalry  between  Northcliffe  and  Pear- 
son, it  should  be  explained,  was  always  of 
the  friendliest  character,  their  competition  in 
business  having  aroused  no  ill  feeling.  This 
fact  was  mentioned  by  Lord  Northcliffe  in 
an  interview  two  or  three  years  ago,  when 
he  spoke  of  the  loss  British  journalism  had 
sustained  through  Sir  Arthur  Pearson's  re- 
tirement. "  He  has  been  one  of  the  great 
vitalizers  of  the  profession  to  which  he  and 
I  belong,"  added  Lord  Northcliffe.  "His 
staffs  have  always  been  cheery  and  optimistic 
and  devoted  to  him.  We  have  been  in  good- 


"THE  THUNDERER"         201 

natured  conflict  most  of  the  time  since  he  and 
I  as  boys  first  knew  each  other,  but  we  have 
always  remained  the  best  of  friends." 

Returning  to  the  main  subject,  North- 
cliffe's  ownership  of  The  Times,  it  may  be 
asked  why  he  should  have  regarded  the  ac- 
quisition of  this  paper  as  his  supreme  tri- 
umph. To  the  average  American  the  term 
"  London  Times "  has  a  comparatively 
uncertain  meaning.  Americans  know,  of 
course,  that  The  Times  is  a  great  newspaper, 
but  they  do  not  realize  that  it  is  far  more 
than  a  newspaper,  that  it  is,  in  fact,  almost 
as  much  a  British  institution  as  the  British 
constitution  itself. 

The  very  name, ff  The  Times"  appears  to 
strike  awe  into  the  hearts  of  English  people, 
who  have  been  taught  to  regard  this  paper 
as  the  representative  of  public  opinion.  "  I 
shall  write  to  The  Times  "  was  once  the  fa- 
vorite threat  of  Britons  traveling  abroad, 
when  any  incident  occurred  to  disturb  their 
equanimity  or  which  was  contrary  to  their 
insular  experience.  In  America  if  a  great 
man  has  anything  to  say  for  publication  he 
has  himself  interviewed  or,  at  least,  con- 
trives to  convey  his  views  to  all  the  papers 


202  NORTHCLIFFE 

at  once.  In  England  he  "writes  to  The 
Times." 

Why,  it  may  be  asked  further,  is  this 
paper  so  great  and  powerful,  and  in  what 
respect  does  it  differ  from  any  important 
American  journal?  The  answer  is  that  not 
only  is  it  130  years  old,  but  from  the  start 
it  has  been  unique  in  standing  above  its  con- 
temporaries and  coming  into  close  association 
with  the  British  government,  and  while  it 
has  remained  an  independent  newspaper,  it 
has  gained  all  the  power  and  prestige  of  an 
official  organ. 

The  story  of  The  Times  is  a  story  of  the 
evolution  of  the  English  people  for  a  century 
or  more.  From  the  beginning  of  its  career 
it  has  stood  for  great  journalism  and  abso- 
lute independence  in  demanding  efficiency  on 
the  part  of  the  government,  the  very  quali- 
ties that  in  later  years,  under  changed  social 
conditions,  have  given  Northcliffe  his  suc- 
cess. During  the  course  of  a  century  this 
paper  has  become  interwoven  with  the  whole 
fabric  of  English  life. 

The  Times,  it  has  been  said,  is  the  most 
English  thing  in  the  world — English  in  its 
foibles  as  well  as  its  strength,  English  in  its 


"THE  THUNDERER"         203 

independence  of  all  excepting  its  customers, 
English  in  its  strange  capacity  for  accepting 
changes  that  are  most  vital  and  events  of  the 
highest  moment  as  simple  and  natural  con- 
sequences not  deserving  that  much  fuss 
should  be  made  over  them.  The  English 
alone  revolutionize  a  suffrage  or  annex  an 
unknown  and  vast  state  as  part  of  the  busi- 
ness of  the  year.  The  Times  regards  such 
things  as  the  English  think  of  them,  with 
pleasure  it  may  be  or  pain,  but  without  a 
trace  of  emotion,  much  less  of  hysteria.  The 
Times  has  been  English  in  its  fortitude 
under  trouble,  English  in  its  occasional  bru- 
tality, more  than  English  in  its  persistency, 
while  occasionally  it  has  displayed  unmistak- 
able wrong-headedness.  It  has  even  been 
English  in  its  method  of  expression. 

The  Times  has  linked  the  British  Empire 
together.  It  forms  a  tie  between  Great 
Britain  and  Canada,  Australia,  South 
Africa,  India,  and  other  British  dominions. 
In  every  quarter  of  the  globe  where  the 
British  flag  is  flying  The  Times  is  to  be 
found.  The  daily  and  weekly  editions  are 
always  on  file  at  British  clubs  and  libraries, 
to  be  read  by  those  who  wish  to  keep  in 


204  NORTHCLIFFE 

close  touch  with  the  mother  country.  As  a 
newspaper  the  word  of  The  Times  is  taken 
as  authoritative  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Whenever  important  events  are  occurring,  it 
is  almost  impossible  to  look  through  an 
American  newspaper  without  seeing  a  quo- 
tation from  a  Times  editorial. 

From  this  it  can  be  easily  understood  that 
the  man  who  owns  the  London  Times  not 
only  gains  an  enviable  amount  of  political 
and  social  prestige  but  has  the  means  at  his 
disposal  of  wielding  a  tremendous  power. 
This  serves  to  explain  why  Lord  North- 
cliffe  considered  that  he  had  reached  the 
summit  of  his  ambition  when  he  secured  pos- 
session of  the  world's  greatest  newspaper. 

To  the  astonishment  of  the  conservative 
element  in  England,  Northcliffe  did  not  alter 
the  tone  of  The  Times  or  introduce  the 
slightest  tinge  of  yellow  into  the  columns  of 
the  venerable  daily.  On  the  contrary,  while 
he  gradually  modernized  its  appearance  and 
put  new  life  into  it,  he  maintained  its  dig- 
nity and  integrity,  its  authority  and  power. 
That  he  intended  to  follow  a  conservative 
policy  was  made  clear  by  a  statement  which 
he  made  soon  after  taking  possession  of  the 


"THE  THUNDERER"         205 

paper.  "  It  is  my  highest  ambition,"  he  said, 
"  to  maintain  the  traditions  that  The  Times 
has  held  for  over  a  hundred  years — traditions 
of  great  aim  and  breadth  of  view  with  regard 
to  literary,  scientific,  and  artistic  matters  and 
the  higher  progress  of  the  nations  outside  of 
England."  As  the  result  of  adhering  to 
this  policy  The  Times,  under  Northcliffe,  has 
gained  more  prestige  than  ever. 

No  account  of  The  Times  would  be  com- 
plete without  an  outh'ne  of  its  remarkable 
history,  however  slight.  As  a  story  it  is 
full  of  interest.  The  paper  was  started  in 
an  eventful  period — toward  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  when  George  the  Third 
was  King  of  England,  when  Louis  the  Six- 
teenth and  Marie  Antoinette  reigned  in 
France,  and  four  years  before  George  Wash- 
ington became  President  of  the  United 
States.  At  that  time  Belgium  was  part  of 
the  Netherlands,  Greece  part  of  Turkey, 
Italy  a  collection  of  independent  states,  Ger- 
man unity  had  hardly  any  more  reality  in 
men's  minds  than  a  nursery  rhyme ;  less  than 
one  page  of  a  textbook  told  all  that  was 
known  of  Africa.  The  Young  Pretender 
was  living  in  Rome,  Warren  Hastings  was 


206  NORTHCLIFFE 

awaiting  trial,  Lord  Howe  was  the  first  lord 
of  the  admiralty,  and  Sir  William  Herschel 
was  completing  his  great  telescope.  Every 
year  of  that  era  was  so  full  of  events  that 
appear  remote  in  modern  eyes  that  it  seems 
an  anachronism  to  bring  an  existing  morn- 
ing newspaper  on  the  stage  in  their  com- 
pany. 

It  was  in  1785  that  John  Walter,  a  Lon- 
don bookseller,  issued  a  daily  paper  which 
he  called  the  Universal  Register,  changing 
the  name  three  years  later  to  The  Times. 
The  new  daily  consisted  of  a  small  double 
sheet  of  coarse  paper  printed  in  small  type, 
and  it  sold  for  threepence  (six  cents) .  There 
were  no  editorials  in  it,  and  none  appeared 
for  some  years  afterwards;  but  in  that  re- 
spect The  Times  was  not  different  from  other 
London  newspapers  of  the  period.  Their 
principal  features  were  ponderous  special 
articles,  correspondence,  and  literary  contri- 
butions. They  contained  only  a  small 
amount  of  news. 

The  Times,  however,  was  different  from 
its  rivals.  In  the  first  place  it  had  a  good 
deal  of  news,  considering  its  limited  size, 
and  the  news,  moreover,  was  well  selected. 


"THE  THUNDERER"         207 

It  also  contained  a  number  of  small  para- 
graphs, written  in  lively  style,  relative  to 
events  in  high  life,  some  of  which  were  almost 
libelous. 

John  Walter  was  an  uncompromising 
man — a  sturdy  Briton,  who  would  not  be 
browbeaten  by  even  an  English  king.  He 
had  strong  convictions,  and  he  did  not  fear  to 
give  them  expression.  He  printed  news  in 
The  Times  of  his  day  which  would  now  be 
considered  as  the  yellowest  of  the  yellow. 
In  fact,  the  original  paper  was  a  yellow 
journal  of  the  purest  type,  and  being  out- 
spoken and  fearless,  and  even  a  little  broad 
at  times — in  an  era  when  newspapers  were 
invariably  suppressed — it  became  an  immedi- 
ate success. 

Ever  alert  for  news,  Walter  employed 
men  to  gather  the  gossip  of  the  coffee-houses, 
then  frequented  by  men  of  high  standing, 
and  these  reporters  brought  in  good 
stories.  They  made  a  hit  with  the  pub- 
lic, and  the  circulation  of  the  paper  in- 
creased. 

About  five  years  after  it  was  started  The 
Times  came  to  grief  through  its  enterprise. 
In  those  days,  to  avoid  the  English  libel 


208  NORTHCLIFFE 

laws  the  newspapers  were  accustomed  to 
skeletonize  the  names  of  important  people 
when  they  were  mentioned.  Apparently  the 
editors  of  that  time  originated  the  "  missing 
letter  "  puzzles  which  were  used  so  profitably 
by  English  periodicals  in  after  years.  Fol- 
lowing this  custom,  The  Times  printed  a 
spicy  item  criticizing  the  Duke  of  York,  one 
of  the  sons  of  George  the  Third,  who  filled 
most  incompetently  an  important  position  in 
the  British  army.  "  A  gentleman  of  qual- 
ity "  had  been  heard  to  remark,  in  the  hear- 
ing of  a  Times  reporter,  that  unless  the 
D-k-  of  Y--k  was  removed  from  his  high 
command  the  army  would  be  in  a  bad 
plight. 

To  criticize  a  member  of  the  royal  family 
when  George  the  Third  was  king  was  equiva- 
lent to  lese-majeste  in  Germany  in  these 
days,  and  there  was  a  heavy  penalty  for  the 
offense.  The  English  public  guessed  The 
Times'  missing  letter  puzzle  at  once,  and  so 
did  King  George  and  the  duke.  As  a  result 
the  audacious  publisher  was  arrested  and 
convicted  of  libel.  For  this  crime  he  was 
sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of  £50  ($250),  to 
stand  in  the  pillory  for  an  hour,  and  to  be 


"THE  THUNDERER"         209 

imprisoned  for  a  year.  He  was  excused 
from  the  pillory  but  was  sent  to  Newgate, 
where  he  continued  to  give  directions  for 
the  management  of  his  paper. 

Soon  after  Walter  was  sent  to  prison,  two 
other  libels  appeared  in  The  Times.  On 
this  occasion  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  the 
Duke  of  Clarence,  two  other  sons  of  King 
George,  were  the  victims.  Although  the 
prince  and  duke  were  referred  to  as  the 
«P— . e  of  W— s"  and  the  "D-k-  of 
Cl---n-e,"  everybody  guessed  the  puzzle  and 
Walter  was  again  brought  before  the  court. 
The  judge  fined  him  £200  ($1000)  more  and 
increased  the  term  of  imprisonment.  He 
paid  the  fines,  and  through  the  influence  of 
political  friends  he  was  released  after  serv- 
ing four  months. 

When  the  first  John  Walter  retired  from 
business  in  1803,  at  an  advanced  age,  he 
transferred  The  Times  to  his  son.  Although 
the  founder  had  regarded  the  paper,  when 
it  was  first  started,  simply  as  an  adjunct  to 
his  printing  establishment,  it  had  already  be- 
come the  most  important  part  of  his  business 
and  had  taken  second  rank  among  the  jour- 
nals of  the  day.  John  Walter  the  second, 


210  NORTHCLIFFE 

who  succeeded  his  father,  concentrated  all 
his  energies  on  the  paper. 

Like  his  father,  the  second  Walter  was 
fearless  and  uncompromising,  a  stern, 
thoughtful,  strenuous  man  of  great  intellec- 
tual capacity.  At  a  time  when  the  laws 
against  newspapers  were  severe,  he  boldly 
exposed  official  inefficiency.  He  also  pub- 
lished accounts  of  parliamentary  proceed- 
ings, although  reporters  were  not  allowed  to 
take  notes.  In  the  early  years  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  when  Napoleon  Bonaparte 
ruled  the  destinies  of  France,  The  Times 
established  a  wonderful  news  service,  con- 
sidering the  conditions  in  those  days.  In 
1805  it  published  one  of  the  best  accounts 
of  the  Battle  of  Trafalgar  and  the  death  of 
Nelson. 

When  The  Times  criticized  the  govern- 
ment of  the  time  for  the  manner  in  which 
the  war  with  France  was  conducted,  the  gov- 
ernment retaliated  by  stopping  all  mail  ad- 
dressed to  the  editor,  while  newspapers  which 
supported  the  government  were  not  inter- 
fered with.  Foreign  correspondence  and 
other  matter  thus  failed  to  reach  the  Times 
office.  Walter  was  then  informed  that  if  he 


"THE  THUNDERER"         211 

would  promise  to  change  the  tone  of  his 
paper  and  support  the  government,  he  could 
have  his  mail  promptly.  He  refused,  and 
made  arrangements  to  get  his  information 
through  channels  that  the  government  could 
not  reach.  Among  other  plans,  a  swift  cut- 
ter was  kept  running  backwards  and  for- 
wards across  the  English  Channel,  by  means 
of  which  French  newspapers,  then  contra- 
band in  England,  were  surreptitiously  ob- 
tained. In  this  way  The  Times  was  enabled 
to  supply  interesting  news  to  its  readers 
and  also  received  the  first  information  of  im- 
portant happenings.  In  1809,  for  instance, 
it  announced  the  surrender  of  Flushing 
twenty-four  hours  before  any  other  report 
reached  London. 

During  the  war  at  that  time,  as  in  later 
years,  The  Times  was  noted  for  its  patriotic 
tone.  It  was  also  conspicuous  for  its  bitter 
attacks  on  the  Emperor  Napoleon.  Dr. 
Stoddart,  who  afterwards  became  Sir  John 
Stoddart  and  Governor  of  Malta,  was  then 
editor,  and  he  wrote  in  a  most  abusive  style. 
"  Corsican  pirate,  infamous  despot,  murder- 
ous ruffian,"  were  among  the  mildest  epithets 
that  he  used,  even  when  France  and  Eng- 


212  NORTHCLIFFE 

land  were  at  peace.  Napoleon  winced  so 
much  under  these  attacks  that  he  consulted 
some  eminent  English  counsel  to  ascertain 
whether  he  could  sue  the  paper  for  libel  in 
an  English  court  and  get  a  verdict  against 
its  publishers.  He  was  advised  not  to  bring 
his  action.  The  Times,  however  (possibly  at 
the  government's  request),  moderated  its 
attacks. 

In  the  early  days  The  Times  took  the 
position  it  has  always  since  maintained,  of 
demanding  that  the  British  navy  should  be 
twice  the  strength  of  its  most  powerful  rival. 
During  the  War  of  1812  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States,  its  editorials 
severely  criticized  the  government  for  allow- 
ing British  warships  to  be  captured  by 
American  frigates.  It  was  the  first  London 
paper  to  announce  the  result  of  the  historic 
fight  between  the  Shannon  and  the  Chesa- 
peake in  1813,  when  the  fortunes  of  war 
were  reversed.  In  1815  it  published  the  best 
account  of  the  Battle  of  Waterloo. 

So  great  was  the  circulation  of  The  Times 
during  the  war  between  Great  Britain  and 
France,  in  the  time  of  Napoleon,  that  the 
mechanical  resources  of  the  paper  were  found 


"THE  THUNDERER"         213 

to  be  inadequate  to  meet  the  demand,  and  al- 
though the  presses  were  kept  in  operation 
throughout  the  day  the  sale  of  thousands  of 
copies  was  lost.  The  printing  was  then  done 
by  means  of  hand  presses,  which  turned  out 
450  copies  an  hour  at  most.  The  consequence 
was  that  before  three  or  four  thousand  copies 
were  printed  the  news  would  be  compara- 
tively old.  Walter  the  second  therefore 
turned  his  attention  to  improving  the  print- 
ing plant. 

On  the  29th  of  November,  1814,  The 
Times  for  the  first  time  was  printed  by 
steam.  It  was  the  first  occasion  in  English 
newspaper  history  that  a  steam  press  had 
ever  been  used.  This  press,  the  invention  of 
a  German  named  Koenig,  was  capable  of 
printing  1100  copies  an  hour.  Later  on  an 
improved  type  of  press  was  substituted  which 
printed  2000  an  hour.  Thereafter  improve- 
ments were  steadily  made  that  enabled  the 
paper  to  be  printed  at  much  greater  speed. 
In  1848  the  output  was  4400  an  hour,  and 
in  1857,  6000. 

The  appearance  and  make-up  of  the 
paper  also  improved  in  the  course  of  years. 
In  1829  The  Times  appeared  as  an  eight- 


214  NORTHCLIFFE 

page  paper.  In  1832  the  circulation  had 
reached  12,000  daily,  and  in  1837,  when 
Queen  Victoria  ascended  the  British  throne, 
it  had  increased  to  30,000,  an  enormous 
figure  in  those  days. 

Walter  the  second  kept  pace  with  the 
progress  of  the  age.  Even  in  the  early  days 
he  made  The  Times  the  most  authoritative 
journal  in  the  world.  He  not  only  intro- 
duced steam  printing,  but  organized  a  com- 
plete system  of  foreign  correspondence 
(afterwards  vastly  developed)  and  insisted 
on  the  accuracy  of  every  item  of  news  being 
proved  before  publication.  All  yellow- jour- 
nal features  having  been  eliminated,  The 
Times  became  a  highly  respectable  news- 
paper, solid  and  substantial,  recognized  as  a 
power  by  the  government. 

Thomas  Barnes,  who  had  been  employed 
on  the  staff  as  a  reporter,  succeeded  to  the 
editorship  in  1817  when  Dr.  Stoddart  re- 
tired. He  was  an  able  man,  and  did  much 
to  improve  the  news  service  and  the  tone  of 
the  paper.  Under  his  management  The 
Times,  in  1834,  established  a  system  of  ex- 
presses covering  all  parts  of  Great  Britain, 
regardless  of  expense.  There  were  few 


"THE  THUNDERER"         215 

railways  at  that  time,  and  some  marvelous 
beats  were  made  by  using  relays  of  horse- 
men when  important  speeches  or  famous 
trials  were  reported.  On  one  occasion,  when 
the  British  prime  minister  delivered  an  im- 
portant address  in  Glasgow,  four  hundred 
miles  from  London,  The  Times  express  cov- 
ered the  distance  at  a  speed  of  fifteen  miles 
an  hour,  an  achievement  which  created  a 
great  sensation. 

During  his  editorship  Barnes  kept  a  sharp 
watch  for  unknown  writers  possessing  the 
sort  of  fitness  that  would  contribute  to  the 
popularity  of  the  enterprising  daily,  and 
when  possible  employed  them  as  salaried 
staff  writers  or  occasional  contributors.  It 
was  at  this  period  that  The  Times  not  only 
aimed  to  be  considered  the  leading  journal 
of  Europe  but  was  universally  admitted  to 
have  claim  to  that  high  distinction.  Walter, 
as  a  rule,  insisted  on  the  paper  supporting 
the  government  of  the  day,  a  policy  which 
has  been  consistently  followed  ever  since. 

From  the  time  that  editorials  appeared 
the  views  of  The  Times  carried  much  weight, 
and,  furthermore,  its  editorial  writers  were 
invariably  well  paid.  In  the  'twenties  the 


216  NORTHCLIFFE 

position  of  chief  editorial  writer  was  filled 
by  Captain  Sterling,  well  known  as  an  au- 
thority on  politics.  It  was  Sterling  who 
originated  the  term  "  Thunderer,"  as  ap- 
plied to  The  Times.  In  one  of  his  editorials 
he  remarked:  "  We  thundered  forth  the  other 
day  an  article  on  the  subject  of — "  Other 
London  papers,  referring  to  this  expression, 
called  The  Times  "  The  Thunderer."  The 
term  is  now  almost  obsolete  in  England,  but 
in  this  country,  strangely  enough,  it  has  sur- 
vived and  is  in  common  use. 

It  was  in  the  'thirties  that  The  Times 
excited  much  comment  by  its  high  rates  of 
remuneration  for  special  articles.  At  that 
time  the  paper  conducted  a  crusade  against 
the  election  of  Alderman  Harmer  as  Lord 
Mayor  of  London,  on  the  ground  that  he 
was  owner  of  the  Weekly  Dispatch,  which 
printed  articles  from  a  well-known  radical 
writer  of  the  time,  who  was  not  only  an  in- 
fidel but  blasphemous.  Ten  special  articles 
on  this  subject  were  sent  to  The  Times  by 
an  outside  contributor,  and  when  the  crusade 
proved  successful  he  received  a  check  for 
£200  ($1000),  or  £20  ($100)  for  each 
article  of  the  average  length  of  a  column — 


"THE  THUNDERER"         217 

a  wonderful  rate  for  those  days.  It  estab- 
lished a  precedent,  however,  and  since  then 
the  paper  has  been  noted  for  its  high  rate 
of  payment  to  the  writers  of  special  articles. 

In  1837,  when  the  Victorian  age  began  in 
England,  The  Times  had  recently  cele- 
brated the  first  half  century  of  its  exist- 
ence. During  that  time  the  world  had 
undergone  a  complete  change.  The  French 
Revolution  had  come  and  gone,  the  wars 
of  Napoleon  and  the  modernizing  of  Eu- 
rope belonged  to  the  past,  democracy  had 
arisen,  tyrannical  governments  had  been 
overturned,  and  the  United  States  had  be- 
come a  great  nation.  In  the  'thirties  the 
Reform  Bill  was  passed,  which  not  only 
gave  the  British  people  a  broad  measure  of 
liberty,  but  removed  restrictions  on  the  press, 
while  every  facility  was  given  for  the  report- 
ing of  parliamentary  debates.  From  the 
early  days  The  Times  had  made  a  specialty 
of  parliamentary  reporting,  and  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  last  century  it  had  eighteen  par- 
liamentary reporters,  including  two  summary 
writers. 

The  third  John  Walter,  who  succeeded  to 
the  ownership  of  the  paper  on  the  death  of 


218  NORTHCLIFFE 

his  father  in  1847,  continued  the  family 
record  of  able  journalism.  At  that  time 
Barnes  had  retired  as  editor,  having  been 
succeeded  in  1841  by  the  greatest  editor  The 
Times  ever  had,  John  Thaddeus  Delane,  who 
ruled  the  destinies  of  the  great  daily  until 
1877.  Under  his  direction  it  gained  remark- 
able power,  not  only  exercising  an  enormous 
influence  in  England,  but  even  attracting 
the  attention  of  foreign  monarchs  and  their 
prime  ministers.  During  the  editorship  of 
Barnes,  Lord  Durham  called  at  The  Times 
office  one  day  on  behalf  of  King  Leopold  of 
Belgium,  whose  complaints  against  the  paper 
had  embarrassed  the  British  ministry.  In 
1859,  Napoleon  the  Third  was  the  subject 
of  editorial  attacks,  which  aroused  so  much 
resentment  in  France  that  Lord  Palmerston 
requested  the  paper,  for  public  reasons,  to 
moderate  its  tone.  Similar  cases  have  been 
recorded  in  which  the  influence  of  The  Times 
was  recognized  by  foreign  governments. 

Delane  had  been  a  close  friend  of  jbhe 
third  Walter  at  Oxford.  He  was  a  man  of 
good  family,  of  high  attainments,  of  extraor- 
dinary grip,  and  a  born  journalist.  He  was 
at  once  courted  by  fashionable  society  and 


"THE  THUNDERER"         219 

politicians,  and  from  his  influence  he  ob- 
tained news  that  no  other  London  paper 
could  get.  His  social  position  was  remark- 
able. He  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Lord 
Palmerston  and  other  statesmen,  and  his 
sources  of  information  were  innumerable. 
Through  his  high  position  he  induced  men 
of  eminence,  such  as  Benjamin  Disraeli,  Sir 
William  Harcourt,  and  George  Grote,  the 
historian  of  Greece,  to  write  for  The  Times. 
He  also  had  wonderful  skill  in  selecting  men 
for  his  staff  and  getting  the  best  work  from 
them. 

For  over  thirty  years  Delane  dined  out 
every  night  in  fashionable  society,  meeting 
the  leading  people  of  England,  ever  honored, 
ever  feared ;  and  at  eleven  o'clock  every  night 
he  was  at  his  desk  in  The  Times  office,  dash- 
ing off  brilliant  editorials  with  an  old-fash- 
ioned quill  pen  and  laying  down  the  law 
with  an  authority  that  no  one  dared  ques- 
tion. In  his  day  the  "  Thunderer  "  literally 
formed  English  public  opinion. 

The  great  editor  was  the  best-informed 
man  in  England.  Even  Disraeli,  when 
prime  minister,  openly  sought  his  advice  and 
support.  By  most  politicians  he  was 


220  NORTHCLIFFE 

dreaded.  When  the  Earl  of  Beaconsfield, 
in  1876,  asked  Lord  Granville  what  he 
thought  of  Delane,  the  reply  was :  "  I  think 
I  would  prefer  not  to  answer  until  Delane 
is  dead." 

The  dramatic  and  tragic  history  of  The 
Times  was  imbued  with  the  romantic  under 
Delane.  When,  for  instance,  the  decision 
of  the  Peel  ministry  on  the  Corn  Law  was 
announced  exclusively  in  the  paper  in  1842, 
it  was  instantly  suspected  that  a  ministerial 
secret  of  high  importance  had  been  betrayed 
by  one  of  the  most  fascinating  women  of  the 
period,  and  George  Meredith  has  made  this 
incident  the  dramatic  climax  of  his  thrilling 
story,  "  Diana  of  the  Crossways."  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  however,  The  Times  was  used 
by  the  ministry  itself  as  the  most  effective 
medium  for  breaking  the  news  to  the  public. 
Delane  has  figured  in  other  novels,  includ- 
ing Anthony  Trollope's  great  story,  "  The 
Warden." 

Like  its  famous  editor,  The  Times  has  had 
a  conspicuous  place  in  English  literature. 
Charles  Dickens,  Thackeray,  and  a  number 
of  other  writers  have  made  the  great  daily 
the  subject  of  eulogy.  In  a  speech  in  Par- 


"THE  THUNDERER"         221 

liament  on  one  occasion,  Bulwer  Lytton  said : 
"  If  I  desired  to  leave  to  remote  posterity 
some  memorial  of  existing  British  civiliza- 
tion, I  would  prefer  not  our  docks  nor  our 
railways  nor  our  public  buildings,  not  even 
the  palace  in  which  we  hold  our  sittings — I 
would  prefer  a  file  of  The  Times" 

While  The  Times  has  never  posed  as  a 
journal  with  a  particular  mission,  political, 
social,  moral,  or  intellectual,  it  has  never 
failed  to  voice  public  opinion  and  expose 
whatever  needed  to  be  exposed.  During  its 
early  career  it  confined  itself  to  being  solely 
a  purveyor  of  news,  aiming  to  get  ahead  of 
its  competitors  and  contriving  to  outdistance 
the  government.  Later  on  its  opinion  had 
weight. 

In  the  'fifties  The  Times  exposed  the 
Crimean  War  scandals,  when  William  H. 
Russell,  one  of  its  greatest  correspondents, 
sent  thrilling  descriptions  of  the  privations 
and  hardships  of  the  British  troops,  due  to 
criminal  negligence  in  the  commissariat. 
During  the  American  Civil  War,  Russell 
again  represented  the  paper,  but  owing  to 
his  partiality  for  the  South  and  his  criticisms 
of  the  North,  especially  after  the  Battle  of 


222  NORTHCLIFFE 

Bull  Run,  he  was  recalled.  In  all  the  wars 
since  that  time,  The  Times'  news  from  the 
front  has  been  distinguished  for  its  accuracy 
as  well  as  its  speed  in  reaching  the  public. 

From  the  start  The  Times  was  fortunate 
in  having  the  most  able  editors  of  the  day. 
Delane  was  succeeded  in  1877  by  his  assist- 
ant Chenery,  and  he,  in  turn,  was  succeeded 
by  his  assistant  Buckle,  who  filled  the  edi- 
torial post  in  recent  years.  The  Times  was 
equally  fortunate  in  its  selection  of  perma- 
nent correspondents,  among  whom  one  of 
the  best  known  was  de  Blowitz,  who  repre- 
sented the  paper  in  Paris  for  many  years. 
He  had  the  entree  at  most  of  the  European 
courts,  and  his  beats  were  innumerable, 
notably  during  the  Franco-Prussian  War 
and  the  years  of  reconstruction  that  fol- 
lowed. 

After  a  century  of  achievement,  The 
Times,  in  1889,  received  the  greatest  blow  it 
had  ever  sustained,  when  the  Piggott  for- 
geries ended  in  the  utter  failure  of  the  paper 
to  prove  its  case  against  Charles  Stewart 
Parnell,  and  were  followed  by  the  tragedy  of 
Piggott's  suicide.  Such  a  blow  to  prestige 
would  have  crushed  any  other  paper,  but  the 


"THE  THUNDERER"         223 

centenarian  daily  survived  the  storm.  It 
was  shortly  after  this  episode  that  the  third 
John  Walter  died,  far  advanced  in  years, 
and  was  succeeded  by  a  fourth  Walter,  who, 
with  other  members  of  the  family,  controlled 
The  Times  until  it  was  acquired  by  Lord 
Northcliffe. 

Under  its  present  owner  this  famous  news- 
paper has  not  only  gained  more  influence 
than  it  possessed  in  former  years,  but  it  is 
better  managed.  With  increased  energy 
and  resources  a  remarkable  improvement  in 
the  technique  of  production  and  presentation 
has  been  effected,  and  with  this  is  combined 
a  wide  knowledge  of  political  events  at  home 
and  abroad,  unwavering  independence,  and 
measured  sanity.  The  foreign  service  of 
The  Times  is  unrivaled,  its  special  articles  on 
political  and  social  happenings  in  all  coun- 
tries are  unsurpassed,  while  its  impartiality 
in  throwing  open  its  correspondence  columns 
to  arguments  on  all  sides  of  public  questions 
makes  the  paper  a  national  forum.  As  a 
national  journal  The  Times  still  remains 
without  a  peer.  It  speaks  for  England  as 
no  other  paper  speaks. 

In  the  period  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 


224  NORTHCLIFFE 

years  that  has  elapsed  since  it  was  started, 
not  only  has  the  paper  undergone  a  remark- 
able development  in  size  and  appearance,  but 
its  machinery  of  production  has  kept  pace 
with  this  evolution.  Instead  of  the  printing 
plant  turning  out  2000  copies  an  hour, — the 
record  figure  in  the  early  days, — the  great 
Hoe  presses  are  able  to  print  over  100,000 
copies  an  hour.  The  circulation  of  The 
Times  has  also  shown  a  corresponding 
growth,  and  while  it  is  not  as  large  as  that 
of  some  of  the  other  London  dailies,  yet  the 
fact  that  the  paper  circulates  chiefly  among 
people  of  the  well-to-do  classes,  and  also  has 
a  world-wide  circulation,  enables  it  to  com- 
mand higher  advertising  rates  than  any  other 
English  newspaper. 

One  of  the  early  numbers  of  The  Times 
contained  thirty-seven  small  advertisements, 
for  which  extremely  low  rates  were  prob- 
ably charged.  Every  decade  since  then,  how- 
ever, has  witnessed  a  marked  increase  in 
advertising  space  and  a  corresponding  in- 
crease in  advertising  rates.  From  the  start 
patent  medicine  advertisements  were  refused, 
and  this  rule  has  always  been  maintained. 
At  the  present  time  the  advertising  profits 


"THE  THUNDERER"         225 

are  unusually  large  and  would  assuredly 
surprise  the  early  Walters,  who  could  never 
have  dreamed  what  the  future  was  destined 
to  bring  forth. 

The  progress  of  the  editorial  branch  of 
the  paper  has  been  fully  as  impressive  as  the 
growth  of  the  business  departments.  As  al- 
ready mentioned,  the  news  service,  domestic 
and  foreign,  is  still  unsurpassed.  In  the 
early  days  The  Times  secured  the  first  news 
by  means  of  sailing  boats  and  horsemen.  It 
has  witnessed  the  evolution  of  railways, 
steamships,  the  telegraph,  the  cable,  the  tele- 
phone, wireless  telegraphy,  and  aeroplanes, 
all  of  which  figure  in  its  news  beats  at  the 
present  time. 

Under  the  direction  of  Lord  Northcliffe, 
The  Times  maintains  its  precedence  in  the 
newspaper  world,  and  although  not  an  offi- 
cial organ  its  representatives  are  supposed 
to  have  the  entree  in  all  departments  of  the 
government  and  to  receive  the  first  news  of 
any  important  political  event.  It  is,  more- 
over, still  recognized  as  the  most  suitable 
medium  for  official  announcements.  As  an 
instance  of  this,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  a 
few  years  after  Lord  Northcliffe  took  pos- 


226  NORTHCLIFFE 

session  of  the  paper,  Mr.  Asquith,  then  prime 
minister,  broke  all  precedents  by  sending  it 
an  interview,  which  was  the  first  time  that  a 
British  premier  had  ever  done  such  a  thing. 
Although  the  interview  appeared  exclusively 
in  the  highly  respectable  Times,  the  ultra- 
conservatives  in  England  made  a  great  out- 
cry, declaring  that  such  a  method  of  publicity 
was  unbecoming  to  the  head  of  the  govern- 
ment. 

To-day,  as  in  the  beginning,  The  Times 
is  sold  for  threepence.  A  few  years  ago 
Lord  Northcliffe  caused  a  sensation  by  re- 
ducing the  price  to  a  penny,  the  first  time 
such  a  reduction  had  been  made  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  paper.  Since  the  beginning  of 
the  war,  however,  the  rising  value  of  white 
paper  and  the  increased  cost  of  production 
have  necessitated  a  return  to  the  former 
price. 

The  evolution  of  The  Times  is  strikingly 
portrayed  by  the  building  in  which  the  paper 
is  produced.  It  is  a  somber,  red-brick  struc- 
ture, made  up  of  additions,  which  start  from 
an  unpretentious  section  erected  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  last  century,  spread  round  what 
is  called  Printing  House  Square,  and  which, 


"THE  THUNDERER"         227 

in  comparatively  modern  style,  have  a  front- 
age on  Queen  Victoria  Street,  where  the 
principal  entrance  is  situated.  In  the  older 
parts  of  the  building  there  is  a  maze  of  cor- 
ridors and  staircases  in  which  a  visitor  can 
easily  get  lost.  It  was  the  old  part  of  the 
Times  Building,  in  Printing  House  Square, 
that  the  youthful  Alfred  Harmsworth  de- 
scribed as  "  a  great  British  institution,  typi- 
cal of  John  Bull's  conservatism,"  when  he 
predicted  that  he  might  some  day  own  the 
famous  newspaper. 

Impressive  and  somber  outside,  a  great  air 
of  mystery  pervades  the  Times  office  itself. 
Callers  seldom  are  permitted  to  see  the  edi- 
tor. Inquiries  are  answered  by  uniformed 
messengers,  usually  men  of  middle  age,  the 
personification  of  dignity,  silence,  and  mys- 
tery. In  one  of  the  corridors  of  the  central 
wing  there  is  a  mahogany  door  inscribed 
"  Lord  Northcliffe,"  which  gives  entrance  to 
the  office  of  the  owner.  It  is  an  impressive 
sanctum,  quiet  and  restful,  with  antique  fit- 
tings, and  a  heavy  Georgian  mantelpiece  at 
one  end.  From  the  windows  can  be  seen  the 
huge  grey  and  white  dome  of  St.  Paul's. 
Here  Northcliffe,  conserving  his  energies  by 


228  NORTHCLIFFE 

his  separation  from  noise  and  irritation, 
meets  his  editors  and  receives  important 
visitors. 

Adjoining  this  office  is  a  large,  square, 
high-pitched  chamber  known  as  the  "  council 
room,"  and  here  the  owner  confers  with  his 
editorial  staff.  Since  the  beginning  of  the 
war  this  apartment  has  become  almost  a 
part  of  the  British  government.  The  "  con- 
ference," essentially  an  American  newspaper 
institution  which  Northcliff  e  introduced  into 
England,  is  held  in  this  room  every  afternoon 
at  a  quarter  to  five.  An  American  writer 
who  was  present  at  one  of  these  gatherings 
has  thus  described  the  scene:  "Around  an 
octagonal  table  sit  the  men  who  make  The 
Times  and  who  also  make  history.  At  the 
head  sits  Geoffrey  Robinson,  the  editor,  with 
Northcliffe  in  the  third  seat  from  him.  It 
is  really  a  cabinet  meeting,  for  often  The 
Times  gets  later  news  than  does  the  govern- 
ment itself.  At  these  meetings,  especially 
those  held  in  crucial  hours,  you  see  North- 
cliffe in  action.  It  is  a  study  in  contrasts  to 
watch  him.  He  crouches  in  his  chair,  an 
intent  listener,  or  else  leans  forward  as  the 
sharp,  pithy,  and  pointed  interrogator.  With 


"THE  THUNDERER"         229 

a  single  question  at  an  expert  he  gets  at  the 
heart  of  the  whole  business." 

Such  is  life  at  the  office  of  The  Times, 
which,  as  already  explained,  is  not  only  a 
newspaper  but  a  British  institution.  In 
fact,  employment  on  the  great  daily  is  re- 
garded by  many  English  people  in  the  higher 
walks  of  life  as  equivalent  to  employment 
under  government.  Many  fathers  have  en- 
deavored to  find  careers  for  their  sons  by 
securing  places  for  them  in  Printing  House 
Square  in  preference  to  the  diplomatic  serv- 
ice. There  is  always  a  waiting  list  of  appli- 
cants for  positions,  sometimes  five  or  six 
years  elapsing  before  an  important  place  is 
filled.  It  is  said  that  the  editor  of  a  London 
newspaper  once  received  a  letter  from  The 
Times  stating  that  he  had  been  appointed 
to  a  modest  position  at  a  small  salary,  his 
application  having  been  filed  eighteen  years 
before. 

While  The  Times  to-day  leads,  in  influ- 
ence and  importance,  as  the  representative 
of  British  public  opinion,  it  has  maintained 
its  popularity  as  the  journal  of  the  educated 
classes,  all  of  which  is  in  striking  contrast 
with  its  humble  beginning.  In  reviewing 


230  NORTHCLIFFE 

the  developments  of  a  century  or  more,  per- 
haps the  most  astonishing  of  all  is  the  fact 
that  a  family  which,  originally,  was  hardly 
ranked  as  belonging  to  the  middle  class, 
should  have  seized  and  kept  for  over  a  hun- 
dred years  the  function  of  expressing  public 
opinion  in  England,  should  have  made  of 
a  compound  of  reports  and  comments  a 
powerful  factor  in  the  government  of  an 
empire  that,  during  that  time,  has  never 
ceased  to  grow,  and  should  have  transformed 
a  paper  which  they  neither  directed  nor 
edited,  although  they  governed  it,  into  the 
leading  newspaper  of  the  world.  The  con- 
tinuous existence  of  any  kind  of  newspaper 
is  a  species  of  miracle,  but  in  the  case  of 
The  Times  it  is  unparalleled. 

After  a  century  or  more,  and  the  meeting 
of  boundless  competition,  The  Times  still 
remains  so  completely  the  first  English  jour- 
nal that  no  Englishman  of  position  ever 
thinks  of  quoting  any  other  paper.  Wher- 
ever he  may  be,  it  is  to  this  paper  that  he 
sends  the  announcement  of  his  marriage  or 
of  his  child's  death.  The  journal  of  the 
best  elements  of  English  society,  The  Times 
has  always  been  conducted  on  a  high  plane, 


"THE  THUNDERER"         231 

ever  independent  and  courageous,  and  con- 
sistently representing  the  dignity,  secrecy, 
and  omniscience  of  the  British  press.  These 
have  been  its  characteristics  for  over  a  cen- 
tury, and  they  have  placed  it  in  the  position 
it  holds  to-day,  in  which  it  is  supposed  to 
wield  a  power  second  only  to  that  of  the 
English  throne. 

Such  is  the  newspaper  which  Lord  North- 
cliffe  acquired  as  the  greatest  prize  of  his 
career,  and  through  which  he  has  become  an 
increasing  power  in  the  political  and  social 
life  of  Great  Britain. 


VIII 
NORTHCLIFFE  AT  WORK 

HAVING  followed  the  career  of  Lord 
Northcliffe  from  his  unpretentious  begin- 
ning as  an  ambitious  youth,  Alfred  Harms- 
worth,  to  his  highest  point  of  achievement 
as  owner  of  The  Times,  the  reader  is  likely 
to  wonder  how  the  man  himself  has  de- 
veloped in  the  course  of  thirty  years.  The 
question  may  be  asked,  What  sort  of  a 
man  is  this  newspaper  magnate  at  the  pres- 
ent time? 

As  a  succinct  answer,  it  may  be  stated 
that  while  the  years  have  naturally  changed 
the  appearance  of  Lord  Northcliffe,  yet  he 
has  lost  none  of  the  enthusiasm  and  love  of 
hard  work  that  were  his  characteristics  in 
earlier  days.  He  is  still  the  chief  inspira- 
tion and  motive  force  of  his  periodicals  and 
newspapers,  with  their  millions  of  readers. 

Physically,  Lord  Northcliffe  fulfills  the 
picture  of  a  big  man.  He  is  powerfully 


NORTHCLIFFE  AT  WORK    233 

built,  rather  thick  set,  and  somewhat  under 
six  feet  in  height.  His  rather  florid  face  is 
clean  shaven.  His  well-shaped,  massive 
head  and  strong  jaw  combine  the  qualities 
of  thoughtfulness  and  combativeness,  and 
when  in  repose  the  head  is  thrust  slightly 
forward.  His  steel-grey  eyes  are  ever  alert. 

He  gives  one  the  instant  impression  of 
possessing  an  enormous  amount  of  vitality 
and  reserve  force,  courage,  capacity,  imagi- 
nation, and  the  ability  to  concentrate.  Al- 
though he  is  fifty-two  years  old,  it  is  difficult 
to  guess  his  age  from  his  appearance,  for 
he  is  one  of  those  unusual  men  who  seem  to 
be  ageless,  and  whose  actual  age,  in  point  of 
years,  is  of  secondary  importance.  He  is 
the  embodiment  of  health.  His  muscles  are 
as  hard  as  iron,  and  he  takes  care  of  himself 
like  an  athlete  in  training. 

In  his  youthful  days  Northcliffe  was  said 
to  have  some  resemblance  to  Napoleon,  and 
even  now  his  resemblance  to  the  Emperor  is 
striking.  The  profile  of  Northcliffe  is  much 
the  same  as  that  of  Napoleon  in  the  prime 
of  life.  There  are  the  same  characteristics, 
the  finely  shaped  nose,  the  determined  chin, 
and  the  same  lock  of  hair  straying  negli- 


234  NORTHCLIFFE 

gently  over  the  high  forehead,  which  have 
been  made  familiar  the  world  over  by  De  la 
Roche's  celebrated  snuffbox  portrait  of  Na- 
poleon. Other  resemblances  between  the 
two  men  have  been  noted, — their  vivacity, 
their  eager,  questioning  manner,  their  curi- 
osity about  all  new  inventions,  their  versa- 
tility, determination,  and  rapidity  of 
thought,  the  accuracy  of  their  observations, 
and  their  fondness  for  travel  and  compari- 
son. The  energy  and  quickness  to  see  and 
act,  the  resolute  determination  to  push  an 
enterprise  to  success,  which  made  Napoleon 
famous — those  are  the  qualities  that  have 
landed  Northcliffe,  in  an  astonishingly  brief 
period,  on  the  pinnacle  of  success. 

Northcliffe  has  a  multiple  personality.  In 
certain  moods  he  is  as  tender  as  a  woman, 
with  an  almost  feminine  sense  of  kindliness 
and  sympathy,  but  in  directing  his  big 
moves  or  shaping  some  public  policy  he  is 
unyielding  and  ruthless.  Like  Roosevelt, 
he  has  a  magnetism  that  dominates  any 
gathering  in  which  he  may  be  found. 

In  a  conversation  with  him  on  serious 
topics  one  perceives  at  once  that  the  bent  of 
his  mind  is  toward  great  affairs,  and  his 


NORTHCLIFFE  AT  WORK    235 

way  of  handling  them  has  in  it  more  of  the 
statesman  than  of  the  journalist.  His  man- 
ner is  simple,  direct,  and  sincere,  his  thought 
original,  individual,  and  far  reaching.  His 
concentration  as  a  thinker  is  shown  in  his 
manner  of  speaking.  He  uses  short  sen- 
tences and  goes  straight  to  the  point  with- 
out unnecessary  circumlocution.  His  voice 
is  low,  pleasant,  and  cultivated.  He  uses 
good  English  and  occasionally  employs  some 
apt  American  term. 

Northcliffe  made  his  way  in  the  world 
through  ignoring  the  conventional  and  strik- 
ing out  on  new  lines.  This  disregard  of 
the  commonplace  is  shown  in  his  dress.  In 
summer  and  winter  he  invariably  wears  an 
unstarched  shirt  with  a  soft  collar,  and  a 
subdued  red  tie,  although  such  an  attire  is 
not  considered  the  best  form  in  England. 
He  prefers  comfort  to  good  form,  however, 
and  is  therefore  sensible  enough  to  defy 
convention. 

In  his  working  methods  Northcliffe  is  a 
lover  of  schedule  and  promptness.  His  way 
of  doing  business  is  by  means  of  a  system 
of  appointments  in  which  a  certain  number 
of  minutes  are  devoted  to  certain  propo- 


236  NORTHCLIFFE 

sitions,  and  the  discussions  are  sped  up  so 
briskly  that  the  day's  work  involves  no 
slack.  Like  most  successful  men,  he  always 
finds  time  for  everything.  He  is  the  per- 
sonification of  punctuality.  When  he  says 
that  he  will  see  you  he  means  that  you  are 
to  be  there  when  the  clock  is  striking  the 
hour.  This  orderliness  marks  all  his  habits. 
It  represents  a  high  degree  of  concentration 
in  business,  and  it  also  provides  time  for 
home  life,  quiet  study  of  big  questions,  exer- 
cise, and  travel. 

Northcliffe  has  a  large  staff  of  secretaries 
and  experts  in  various  branches  of  editing 
and  publishing,  and  these  are  called  into 
frequent  consultation.  Sometimes  he  has 
quite  a  gathering  of  them  at  one  of  his 
country  houses  in  the  summer  time,  when 
all  sorts  of  business  matters  are  discussed. 
He  has  three  offices  in  London, — one  in  the 
Times  Building,  one  in  Carmelite  House, 
and  another  in  Fleetway  House.  He  is 
generally  to  be  found  at  one  of  these  during 
working  hours.  As  in  former  years,  he 
directs  everything,  leaving  the  execution  to 
subordinates,  and  does  not  waste  time  on 
petty  details.  When  he  works  he  brings 


NORTHCLIFFE  AT  WORK    237 

all  his  energy  into  play.  He  has  been  called 
a  stern  taskmaster  by  some  of  his  English 
critics,  but  even  if  that  be  true,  it  is  also 
a  fact  that  he  demands  more  of  himself 
than  of  any  of  his  subordinates.  Possess- 
ing colossal  energy,  he  regards  it  as  a 
treasure,  and  while  he  will  spend  it  with 
reckless  prodigality  to  accomplish  definite 
aims,  he  will  not  dissipate  it  for  mere 
pleasure. 

A  man  who  is  closely  enough  associated 
with  Northcliffe  to  know  his  impulses  says 
that  one  of  the  causes  of  his  decision  to  agi- 
tate for  the  overthrow  of  a  recent  British 
prime  minister  was  the  statesman's  waste  of 
vitality  at  formal  dinners,  which  rendered 
him  incapable  of  acting  masterfully  on  im- 
portant problems  of  the  day.  In  marked 
contrast  to  this,  Northcliffe  reserves  his 
energy  for  useful  purposes.  Sir  Thomas 
Lipton,  it  may  be  added,  has  a  motto  hang- 
ing over  his  desk  in  his  London  office,  which 
reads:  "Work  is  my  fun."  That  might  be 
Northcliffe's  maxim,  too,  for  he  is  undoubt- 
edly the  most  energetic  worker  in  England. 

Before  the  average  Englishman  is  out  of 
his  morning  tub,  Northcliffe  has  done  some 


238  NORTHCLIFFE 

hours'  work.  He  rises  at  five  o'clock  in 
the  morning  in  the  summer  time  and  at  six 
in  the  winter.  During  most  of  the  year  his 
working  day  is  arranged  as  follows:  Rising 
at  five,  he  has  a  cup  of  coffee  at  quarter- 
past  five  and  begins  work  at  half -past.  At 
that  time  all  the  London  morning  news- 
papers, including  his  own,  are  brought  to 
him  for  inspection.  He  glances  through 
every  column  in  order  to  learn  what  is  go- 
ing on  in  the  world,  and  also  to  see  what 
rival  papers  are  doing.  Incidentally  he 
compares  them  with  his  own  papers.  While 
reading,  he  jots  down  notes  and  criticisms 
on  everything,  from  typesetting  to  sugges- 
tions which  may  be  useful  to  his  editors. 
These  notes  are  embodied  in  letters  to  his 
staff,  which  are  written  later  in  the  day. 

His  vast  store  of  energy  enables  him  to 
handle  an  immense  amount  of  material  con- 
nected with  the  various  subjects  in  which 
he  is  particularly  interested.  Yet  so  great 
is  his  power  of  concentration  that  he  imme- 
diately reduces  a  myriad  of  petty  details 
to  definite  impressions  tersely  expressed. 
Oftentimes  he  makes  a  criticism  of  one  of 
his  papers  in  a  single  word  written  on  the 


NORTHCLIFFE  AT  WORK    239 

front  page  of  a  copy  that  is  sent  to  the 
editor. 

Even  during  breakfast  he  gives  orders  to 
one  of  his  secretaries,  dictates  important  let- 
ters, and  occasionally  telephones.  His  mid- 
day meal  is  usually  devoted  to  conferences 
upon  important  matters  with  people  who 
have  been  asked  to  luncheon  for  that  pur- 
pose. The  business  of  the  day  is  supposed 
to  end  at  half -past  seven  in  the  evening,  but 
during  war  time  conversation  invariably 
drifts  to  topics  connected  with  work.  Re- 
tiring at  ten  o'clock,  Northcliffe  is  read  to 
for  fifteen  minutes,  and  is  asleep  by  half- 
past  ten.  Six  and  a  half  hours  of  sleep 
suffice.  Then  at  five  o'clock  he  is  at  work 
again.  The  war  has  not  interfered  with 
this  routine,  which  goes  on  week  days  and 
Sundays  and  is  only  interrupted  by  an 
afternoon's  golf,  an  occasional  visit  to  the 
front,  or  a  trip  to  New  York. 

All  those  who  have  come  in  contact  with 
Northcliffe  receive  the  impression  of  tre- 
mendous reserve  force  and  dynamic  aggres- 
siveness lying  alertly  latent,  and  subsequent 
meetings  emphasize  this  impression.  To 
one  visitor  he  seemed  to  be  like  a  caged  lion, 


240  NORTHCLIFFE 

not  because  he  roared,  for  roar  he  never 
does,  but  because  it  seemed  as  if  his  pent-up 
energy  were  trying  to  break  through  in- 
visible bars  that  intervened  between  him 
and  the  immediate  attainment  of  a  multi- 
tude of  purposes.  Walking  back  and  forth 
in  a  restricted  alcove,  he  paused  suddenly 
from  time  to  time  to  speak  sharply  and 
briefly.  Thus  he  settled  three  or  four  vital 
matters  every  minute.  As  soon  as  there 
was  an  instant's  delay,  one  saw  again  the 
caged-lion  phase. 

Yet  all  observers  agree  that  Northcliffe 
never  gets  flustered  or  beyond  himself.  It 
is  noticeable  that  whenever  an  atmosphere 
of  flurry  surrounds  him,  it  is  caused  entirely 
by  office  boys,  clerks,  and  other  one-cylinder 
subordinates,  puffing  and  tearing  to  keep 
up  with  his  smooth-running  two-hundred- 
horsepower  engine.  It  is  impossible  to  enter 
a  room  where  he  is  working  and  not  be 
drawn  irresistibly  into  activity.  One  of  his 
guests  at  a  country  house,  after  greetings 
were  exchanged,  withdrew  to  a  corner  of 
the  work  room,  but  within  a  minute  he  had 
been  dragged  out  and  set  to  correcting 
the  proof  of  an  article  which  Northcliffe 


NORTHCLIFFE  AT  WORK    241 

had  written  about  the  war.  When  that  was 
finished  he  was  given  a  cablegram  to  an 
American  newspaper  to  revise. 

In  his  letter  writing  NorthcliftVs  char- 
acteristics shine  brilliantly  forth.  Despite 
the  fact  that  the  letters  are  dictated,  and 
are  typewritten  by  competent  secretaries, 
he  reads  every  one  slowly  and  carefully  be- 
fore signing  it.  In  a  batch  of  letters  that 
he  disposed  of  while  a  visitor  was  present,  he 
altered  only  a  single  word,  which  he  crossed 
out  and  replaced  with  a  synonym.  In  al- 
most every  third  letter,  however,  he  under- 
scored a  clause  or  sentence.  Each  letter 
was  typewritten  upon  a  single,  medium-size 
sheet  of  blue  paper  with  "The  Times"  en- 
graved at  the  top,  and  consisted  of  only  a 
few  lines.  The  lines  were  single  spaced, 
and  in  most  cases  were  in  one  paragraph. 
This  applied  even  to  a  letter  to  the  prime 
minister  which  touched  upon  three  impor- 
tant and  separate  topics.  There  was  no 
waste  of  words,  no  use  of  such  bromides  as 
"  I  have  received  your  letter,"  and  never 
the  address  of  the  recipient.  The  letters 
began  with  "  Dear  So-and-So "  and  were 
signed  in  the  lower  right-hand  corner,  usu- 


242  NORTHCLIFFE 

ally  in  pencil,  with  the  one  word  "  North- 
cliffe  "  written  at  an  oblique  angle  mounting 
toward  the  right. 

Even  for  a  genius  in  journalism  North  - 
cliffe  is  an  amazingly  prolific  writer  of  good 
stuff,  throwing  off  signed  interviews,  arti- 
cles, and  essays  with  the  speed  of  a  rotary 
plow.  In  the  early  days  of  his  newspaper 
ownership  he  occasionally  wrote  editorials 
and  other  copy,  and  even  in  these  days  he 
finds  time  to  write  many  special  articles. 
He  writes  in  the  style  in  which  he  would 
talk  out  of  a  buoyant  and  busy  mind,  dic- 
tating clearly  and  rapidly,  his  copy  need- 
ing very  little  correction. 

As  in  his  earlier  years,  Northcliffe  is  still 
a  believer  in  the  vigor  and  optimism  of 
youth.  Consequently,  in  visiting  his  busi- 
ness establishments  one  is  impressed  by  the 
youthfulness  of  the  men  who  hold  important 
positions.  The  editor  of  The  Times  is 
barely  forty,  and  none  of  the  directors  of 
the  Amalgamated  Press  are  over  middle 
age.  That  is  part  of  the  Northcliffe  sys- 
tem. Having  managed  a  great  business 
himself  before  he  was  thirty,  he  knows  the 
value  of  the  strength  and  resourcefulness 


NORTHCLIFFE  AT  WORK    243 

which  accompany  fruitful  years.  The  first 
two  questions  that  he  hurls  at  any  applicant 
for  employment  are:  "How  old  are  you?" 
and  "  What  can  you  do?  " 

With  all  his  mercilessness  toward  ineffi- 
cients  and  incompetents,  it  is  agreed  by 
nearly  all  who  have  been  employed  by 
Northcliffe  that  he  is  a  delightful  man  to 
work  with.  In  spite  of  his  vast  and  wide- 
spread interests  he  will  come  into  the  re- 
porters' room  of  the  Daily  Mail,  sit  on  the 
edge  of  a  table,  smoke  cigarettes,  and  talk 
to  the  men  as  if  he  were  one  of  themselves. 
He  likes  them  and  they  like  him. 

Frank  Dilnot,  a  former  Daily  Mail  cor- 
respondent, relates  in  his  book  on  Lloyd 
George  an  incident  of  a  young  writer  who 
was  sent  to  investigate  a  series  of  happen- 
ings in  a  Midland  town,  but  was  rather 
badly  hoaxed  and  was  responsible  for  a  good 
deal  of  ridicule  directed  against  the  paper. 
This,  of  course,  is  a  deadly  sin  for  a  news- 
paperman, and  the  chiefs  of  the  office  were 
naturally  severe  about  the  matter.  The 
writer  in  question,  feeling  that  his  career 
on  the  paper  was  over,  went  out  of  the  office 
to  lunch,  and  as  bad  luck  would  have  it  en- 


244  NORTHCLIFFE 

countered  Northcliffe's  automobile  drawing 
up  at  the  entrance.  He  knew  that  "  Al- 
fred," as  Northcliffe  is  familiarly  called, 
would  be  fuming  and  was  the  last  man  on 
earth  whom  it  was  desirable  to  meet  in  such 
a  mood.  The  young  fellow  braced  himself 
for  the  attack  as  Northcliffe  beckoned  him 
forward.  :<  What  is  this  I  hear?  "  exclaimed 
the  newspaper  owner.  "  You  have  had  your 
leg  pulled,  haven't  you?  Don't  take  it  too 
much  to  heart.  We  all  get  deceived  some- 
times. I  have  had  my  leg  pulled  before 
now.  It's  annoying,  but  don't  worry  about 
it." 

Northcliffe  frequently  goes  through  his 
editorial  departments,  making  the  acquaint- 
ance of  new  men  and  exchanging  a  few 
sentences  of  conversation  with  the  estab- 
lished members  of  the  staff.  Once  he 
stopped  before  the  desk  of  a  junior  sub- 
editor whom  he  had  never  seen  before  and 
inquired :  "  How  long  have  you  been  with 
me?" 

"  About  three  months,"  was  the  reply. 

"  How  are  you  getting  on?  Do  you  like 
the  work?  Do  you  find  it  easy  to  get  into 
our  ways?" 


NORTHCLIFFE  AT  WORK    245 

"  I  like  it  very  much." 

"  How  much  money  are  you  getting? " 

"  Five  pounds  a  week." 

"  Are  you  quite  satisfied?  " 

"  Perfectly  satisfied,  thank  you." 

'  Well,  you  must  remember  this,  that  I 
want  no  one  on  my  staff  who  is  a  perfectly 
satisfied  man  with  a  salary  of  five  pounds  a 
week." 

Members  of  any  of  the  staffs  who  break 
down  are,  when  necessary,  sent  to  recupera- 
tive climates,  their  full  salary  and  expenses 
being  paid  until  they  recover.  One  of  the 
assistant  editors  who  became  afflicted  with  a 
lingering  malady  was  ill  for  three  years  be- 
fore he  died,  but  during  that  time  he  received 
his  salary,  while  his  medical  expenses  also 
were  paid.  Subsequently  Northcliffe  in- 
vested a  considerable  sum  of  money  for  the 
maintenance  of  his  widow.  This,  however, 
is  but  one  instance  of  Northcliffe's  charities, 
which  are  practically  unending.  His  pri- 
vate pension  list,  which  is  very  large,  not 
only  benefits  the  widows  of  deceased  mem- 
bers of  his  staff,  but  includes  the  names  of 
old  and  deserving  workers  who  were  with 
him  in  the  days  of  his  early  struggles.  To 


246  NORTHCLIFFE 

what  extent  these  charities  reach  no  one 
knows,  for  he  never  lets  his  right  hand 
know  what  his  left  hand  does. 

To  the  older  of  his  men  Northcliffe  to- 
day is  still  affectionately  known  as  "  Al- 
fred." He  has  a  sense  of  humor,  often 
ironical,  and  likes  to  send  little  jabs  that 
will  keep  his  employees  up  to  the  mark. 
Just  before  the  war  began,  for  example,  he 
sent  to  some  of  his  chiefs  an  illustration  of 
a  beehive  surrounded  with  bees,  which  con- 
veyed the  hint,  "  Be  busy."  One  of  the  spe- 
cial writers  of  the  Daily  Mail,  the  oldest  in 
point  of  service,  received  one  day  from 
Northcliffe  a  magnificent  gold-mounted 
fountain  pen.  As  the  journalist  in  question 
was  rather  inclined  to  take  his  ease  when- 
ever opportunity  offered,  he  saw  the  point 
at  once.  In  showing  his  gift  to  a  friend, 
later  on,  he  remarked :  "  Here's  a  nice  gift 
from  Alfred.  Evidently  he  wants  me  to  do 
some  writing."  "  Well,  have  you  done 
any?  "  asked  the  friend.  "  Indeed,  I  have," 
was  the  reply,  "I've  just  made  out  two 
nice  big  expense  accounts  with  my  gold- 
mounted  pen." 

In  his  office  in  the  queer  red-brick  build- 


NORTHCLIFFE  AT  WORK    247 

ing  which  houses  The  Times,  close  by  the 
Thames  with  its  grey  fogs  and  orange- 
colored  mists,  Northcliffe  has  a  comfort- 
able resting  place,  a  sort  of  exaggerated 
Morris  chair,  and  in  this  he  reclines 
rather  than  sits.  Yet  he  manages  to  ar- 
range matters  with  his  visitors  on  a  basis 
of  intimacy  sufficient  to  enable  him  to 
recline  without  any  one  feeling  ill  at 
ease.  It  is  part  of  his  system  of  conserving 
energy. 

His  dynamic  force,  as  already  observed, 
impresses  every  visitor  who  has  the  privilege 
of  seeing  him  in  action.  Will  Irwin,  the 
American  correspondent,  who  visited  the 
Times  office,  observed  that  while  Northcliffe 
greeted  him  with  an  approved  English  ac- 
cent, its  staccato  style  was  almost  American 
in  its  nervous  force. 

"  I  noticed  Northcliffe's  slight  stoop, 
which  is  characteristic,"  says  Irwin.  "  It 
does  not  suggest  midnight  hours  over  a 
desk,  but  a  kind  of  general  peering  curi- 
osity about  life.  His  smooth-shaven  face 
was  in  repose  when  I  caught  sight  of  it 
first.  It  looked  able  and  massive.  It  was 
crowned  with  a  thatch  of  brownish  hair, 


248  NORTHCLIFFE 

and  there  was  about  it  a  kind  of  propor- 
tion and  comeliness.  As  he  advanced 
toward  me  his  prominent,  broad,  and  rest- 
less eye  glanced  sharply  as  he  took  me  by 
the  hand.  I  can't  recall  the  color  of  that 
eye,  for  I  was  too  much  absorbed  in  its 
expression  of  keen,  live  interest  in  every- 
thing. He  settled  in  an  easy  chair,  rang 
for  tea,  and  started  to  talk.  When  I  first 
glimpsed  his  face  I  thought  it  massive.  In 
conversation  it  became  boyish.  His  sharp, 
straight  nose,  his  crisp  mouth,  were  as  points 
of  light." 

Irwin  continues:  "When  I  entered  the 
room  Northcliffe  had  just  settled  an  im- 
portant point  of  policy  for  the  Daily  Mail. 
Then  his  secretary  announced  the  editor  of 
a  comic  weekly,  one  of  the  papers  that  he 
controls.  Before  the  editor  could  reach  the 
desk  Northcliffe  had  the  latest  copy  of  the 
comic  spread  out  before  him  and  started 
the  conversation. 

"  *  Smith,  sit  down,'  he  began.  '  Why 
don't  you  put  paunches  on  those  policemen? 
The  public  expects  comic  policemen  to  be 
fat.  And  the  persecuted  husband  must  al- 
ways be  thin.  That  fellow  doesn't  look  hen- 


NORTHCLIFFE  AT  WORK    249 

pecked;  he  looks  as  if  she  had  fed  him  well. 
Be  careful  or  we  shall  get  too  refined.' 

"  With  that  joke  he  dismissed  the  editor 
of  the  comic  weekly,  laughing.  The  next 
visitor  was  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Daily 
Mail.  Again  Northcliffe  was  deep  in  con- 
versation before  the  visitor  had  taken  a  seat. 

" '  Excellent  article  on  page  three,'  he 
said ;  '  I  like  the  way  it  runs  on  from  one 
thing  to  another.  But  it  should  have  been 
on  the  editorial  page.  There  is  too  little 
news  to  it.  People  look  for  news  on  page 
three.'  On  another  page  of  the  current 
Daily  Mail  Northcliffe  or  his  secretary  had 
marked  an  item  from  a  continental  corre- 
spondent. 

'  That  is  good,'  he  said.    *  That  man  can 
write.    Watch  him.' 

'  There  entered  presently  the  head  of  one 
of  the  mechanical  departments.  Something 
had  gone  wrong  with  a  rotary  press. 
Northcliffe  took  this  occasion  to  inquire  into 
the  state  of  the  presses  in  general.  Number 
three  was  below  her  guaranteed  run  the  last 
time  he  had  heard  from  her.  Had  they 
found  out  yet  what  was  the  matter?  How 
was  the  flying  paster  working? 


250  NORTHCLIFFE 

"  Out  of  this  talk  grew  the  impression 
that  Northcliffe  knew  every  machine  in  the 
shop,  with  its  powers  and  its  latest  improve- 
ments. And  he  seemed  to  take  as  much 
delight  in  his  knowledge  of  his  machinery 
as  in  his  understanding  of  European  politics. 

"  In  fact,  when  the  session  was  done  and 
he  looked  across  at  me  with  that  peering, 
searching  glance  of  his,  I  felt  the  Celt  in 
him  coming  to  the  surface.  '  Oh,  man,  am  I 
no  a  bonny  fighter? '  quoth  Alan  Beck  in 
his  moment  of  triumph  to  David  Balfour. 
'My  boy,  do  I  not  know  this  business?' 
Northcliffe  seemed  to  say." 

As  explained  in  previous  chapters,  North- 
cliffe is  a  strong  believer  in  the  maxim  that 
an  efficient  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire. 
"  Make  your  employees  contented,"  is  his 
rule.  Adequate  compensation,  he  is  con- 
vinced, is  the  secret  of  contentment,  and  he 
has  found  that  it  is  a  good  investment.  Like 
most  successful  employers  he  is  deeply  inter- 
ested in  those  who  work  for  him.  On  busy 
mornings,  when  it  is  impossible  for  him  to 
glance  through  all  his  personal  mail,  he  has 
been  heard  to  remark :  "  Run  through  it 
quickly  and  see  if  there  are  any  letters  from 


NORTHCLIFFE  AT  WORK    251 

my  work  people."  They  always  receive  his 
attention. 

Personality,  it  has  been  remarked,  is  a 
very  mysterious  thing.  A  man  cannot  al- 
ways be  estimated  by  what  he  does.  In 
Lord  Northcliffe's  case  a  very  good  idea  of 
him  can  be  formed  from  what  he  says. 
When  interviewed  he  invariably  speaks  to 
the  point  and  says  something  that  is  worth 
recording.  He  is,  in  fact,  one  of  those  for- 
tunate people  who  talk  well.  In  one  of  his 
recent  chats  he  discussed  success  in  life  and 
the  best  means  to  attain  it.  His  own  suc- 
cess he  largely  attributes  to  concentration, 
the  instincts  with  which  he  was  born,  and 
good  health. 

"  A  good  physical  condition,"  he  observed, 
"  is  fundamental.  Then  comes  regular  liv- 
ing. In  my  own  case  I  manage  my  life,  as 
far  as  possible,  with  machine-like  regularity. 
I  have  regular  hours  set  apart  for  exercise 
and  fresh  air.  Most  business  men  spend  too 
much  time  at  their  desks,  thus  losing  their 
sense  of  proportion,  their  correct  perspec- 
tive, and  become  buried  in  details.  I  have 
to  leave  England  to  see  my  business  in  its 
true  perspective.  I  do  not  follow  the  de- 


252  NORTHCLIFFE 

tails  of  my  affairs,  but  I  know  them.  Then 
I  put  them  into  the  hands  of  men  I  can 
trust.  My  faculty  for  selecting  the  right 
men  is,  of  course,  one  of  my  most  valuable 
assets.  I  made  some  serious  mistakes  in 
this  respect  when  I  was  younger,  but  none 
in  late  years.  I  select  men  entirely  on  my 
own  judgment,  without  reference  to  their 
past  records.  Other  things  being  equal,  I 
believe  that  university  men  are  the  best." 
The  last  remark  is  interesting  because  Lord 
Northcliffe  is  not  a  university  man. 

On  another  occasion,  the  great  publisher 
again  emphasized  the  importance  of  concen- 
tration as  the  secret  of  success.  "  Men 
fail,"  he  said,  "  because  they  dissipate  their 
energies  in  pleasure  or  in  meddling  with  a 
dozen  different  concerns.  I  have  centered 
myself  on  one  thing,  journalism.  That  is 
my  business,  my  recreation,  my  all.  To 
concentration,  of  course,  must  be  added 
other  essential  traits,  but  that  alone  will  ac- 
complish a  great  deal.  As  to  the  other 
qualities  which  bring  success,  I  should  place 
first:  industry,  self -culture,  cheerfulness, 
self-reliance,  determination,  confidence,  in- 
itiative, ambition,  and  optimism.  Then 


NQRTHCLIFFE  AT  WORK    253 

come  foresight,  leadership,  ability  to  select 
and  inspire,  great  mental  and  physical 
stamina,  superior  judgment,  willingness  to 
incur  big  risks,  personal  magnetism,  dy- 
namic force,  imagination,  and  common  sense. 
Above  all  things,  avoid  worry,  for  that  has 
killed  more  people  than  hard  work  ever 
killed." 

In  discussing  his  method  of  selecting  effi- 
cient subordinates  Lord  Northcliffe  said: 
"  In  our  own  case  we  place  great  value  on 
early  training.  We  are  even  particular 
about  hiring  our  office  boys,  who  may 
eventually  become  department  managers. 
In  Napoleon's  army  every  private,  figura- 
tively speaking,  had  a  marshal's  baton  in  his 
knapsack,  and  all  our  young  men,  on  the 
same  principle,  are  encouraged  to  be  am- 
bitious. Their  work  speaks  for  itself,  and 
that  enables  us  to  make  judicious  selections 
when  important  places  have  to  be  filled." 

When  anxious  fathers  come  to  the  famous 
journalist  and  ask  him  how  their  sons  should 
make  a  start  as  newspapermen,  he  invari- 
ably says :  "  The  first  essential  is  the  best 
possible  education,  including  a  knowledge 
of  French  and  Spanish,  then  a  period  of 


254  NORTHCLIFFE 

initiation  in  a  newspaper  office  in  a  small 
town."  Such  advice  is  eminently  practical, 
for  the  beginner  who  finds  employment  in 
the  office  of  a  small-town  daily  undoubtedly 
gets  a  better  insight  into  newspaper  making 
than  the  young  man  who  starts  out  as  a  cub 
reporter  on  a  newspaper  in  a  large  city. 

As  the  result  of  his  own  experience,  Lord 
Northcliffe  has  expressed  the  following 
opinion  in  regard  to  some  other  requisites 
for  success  in  journalism  and  the  publishing 
business :  "  I  believe  in  hard  work,"  he  says, 
"  but  hard  work  is  not  enough.  Many  peo- 
ple work  with  their  eyes  on  the  ground.  I 
believe  in  travel.  Our  young  men  don't  go 
abroad  enough.  I  attribute  our  family  suc- 
cess in  no  small  measure  to  the  fact  that  all 
my  brothers  and  I  have  traveled  extensively. 

"  Originality  is  important.  I  believe  that 
half  the  journalistic  notions  of  what  the 
public  wants  to  read  are  wrong.  They  are 
largely  based  on  old-fashioned  tradition  or 
upon  the  journalist's  personal  tastes.  I  be- 
lieve the  public  is  a  far  better  critic  than  is 
usually  imagined.  And  I  do  not  believe 
that  any  amount  of  advertising  will  keep  up 
a  bad  thing.  The  public  does  not  care  one 


NORTHCLIFFE  AT  WORK     255 

iota  about  size;  if  anything,  a  small  jour- 
nal is  preferred  to  a  big  one.  It  is  a  broad 
principle  of  our  business  never  to  compete 
in  size  with  anybody.  More  money  has  been 
lost  in  journalism  on  the  theory  that  the 
public  wants  bulk  than  on  any  other  theory. 
What  the  public  wants  is  quality,  character, 
individuality." 

Having  climbed  from  obscurity  to  fame 
unaided,  Lord  Northcliffe  is  well  qualified 
to  give  advice  to  young  men  who  wish  to 
rise  in  the  world.  When  he  was  asked  re- 
cently to  give  some  suggestions  for  the 
guidance  of  other  climbers,  he  said:  "My 
advice  to  every  young  man  would  be  this: 
Concentrate  your  energies  and  work  hard. 
Specialize,  be  original,  launch  out  on  new 
experiments,  and  be  sure  to  have  the  courage 
of  your  convictions.  I  think  that  special- 
ization is  the  keynote  of  success,  and  this 
principle  will  be  even  more  essential  in  the 
future.  The  world's  effective  workers  are 
constantly  increasing  in  number.  Competi- 
tion is  steadily  growing  keener.  The  man 
who  wins  recognition  in  this  twentieth  cen- 
tury will  have  to  do  some  one  thing  ex- 
tremely well.  If  I  were  giving  just  one 


256  NORTHCLIFFE 

word  of  advice  to  a  young  man  I  should 
say — concentrate.  When  you  have  fixed 
the  lines  on  which  you  want  to  travel  and 
know  that  you  are  right,  keep  to  them  and 
do  not  listen  to  what  other  people  say. 
Every  young  man  has  a  chance  to  rise,  but 
it  needs  good  judgment  to  know  when  to 
seize  opportunities,  and  persistence  to  keep 
hold  of  them  when  they  are  caught." 

World  famous  as  he  is  to-day,  Lord 
Northcliffe's  advice  is  full  of  encouragement 
to  those  earnest  workers  who  have  not  yet 
reached  places  of  eminence.  As  he  wisely 
points  out,  if  only  the  right  kind  of  seed  be 
planted  the  fruit  will  ripen  by  and  by.  Nor 
are  results  always  attained  in  a  hurry.  In- 
deed, one  of  the  great  lessons  derived  from 
the  life  of  this  successful  man  is  that 
patience,  perseverance,  determination,  and 
unflagging  courage  are  qualities  which,  given 
a  suitable  environment,  will  surely  win  their 
reward. 


IX 
SOCIAL  GLIMPSES 

THERE  are  two  Northcliffes,  one  who  is 
known  in  public  life,  the  other  who  is  known 
at  home,  and  they  differ  in  many  ways. 
The  stern  fighter  of  inefficiency,  the  inces- 
sant worker  and  busy  man  of  affairs,  be- 
comes transformed  when  he  crosses  the 
threshold  of  his  home.  In  this  busy  man's 
life  there  is,  in  fact,  one  definite  rule  which 
might  be  copied  with  advantage  by  over- 
worked American  millionaires.  His  rest- 
ing hours  are  devoted  to  complete  relaxa- 
tion, although  in  war  time  he  has  had  to 
keep  a  sharp  watch  on  the  news  and  the  di- 
rection of  his  newspapers,  especially  The 
Times. 

An  English  wit  once  remarked :  "  It  is 
vulgar  to  talk  about  one's  business  in  social 
life.  Only  people  like  stockbrokers  do  that, 
and  then  merely  at  dinner  parties."  Lord 

257 


258  NORTHCLIFFE 

Northcliffe  apparently  takes  a  similar  view. 
Except  in  a  time  of  a  great  national  crisis 
his  work  for  the  day  ends  when  the  time  for 
dinner  begins,  and  from  that  moment  no 
guest  at  any  of  his  houses  ever  discusses 
business.  Unlike  so  many  men  of  decided 
talent,  Northcliffe  reveals  at  home  one  of 
the  best  sides  of  his  nature.  His  bubbling 
wit,  brilliant  conversation,  and  good  cheer 
are  for  his  own  fireside;  all  that  is  cutting, 
critical,  and  denunciatory  is  for  public  ene- 
mies or  inefficients  who  wear  a  rhinoceros 
hide.  At  home  one  sees  the  real  North- 
cliffe,  filled  with  all  the  youthful  impulses 
and  vitalized  energy  of  a  Peter  Pan  who  is 
never  likely  to  grow  old. 

Neither  his  tremendous  business  respon- 
sibilities nor  his  activities  as  newspaper 
owner,  editorial  director,  and  public  man 
consume  his  whole  energies.  In  spite  of  his 
busy  life  he  has  found  time  to  become  an 
expert  at  any  game  which  he  has  taken  up, 
and  has  carried  his  spirit  of  thoroughness 
even  into  his  recreations.  He  plays  a  swift 
game  of  tennis,  and  he  is  an  enthusiastic 
golfer.  Having  been  one  of  the  first  Eng- 
lishmen to  take  up  motoring,  he  knows  all 


SOCIAL  GLIMPSES  259 

that  is  worth  knowing  about  an  automobile. 
He  has  more  than  a  dozen  cars,  of  all  varie- 
ties, and  before  the  war  it  was  his  custom, 
in  the  winter  season,  to  travel  from  London 
to  the  south  of  France  in  one  of  his  motor 
vehicles  whenever  he  went  to  his  villa  at 
Beaulieu  on  the  Riviera  coast. 

Northcliffe  has  taken  a  great  deal  of  in- 
terest in  automobile  racing,  and  has  offered 
prizes  in  connection  with  the  sport.  He  has 
also  taken  a  foremost  part  in  promoting 
motor-boat  racing,  the  race  for  the  Harms- 
worth  Cup  having  been  one  of  the  great 
events  in  these  contests.  It  is  quite  pos- 
sible that  some  day  he  may  become  an  avi- 
ator, for  he  has  been  interested  in  aircraft 
from  the  time  they  first  appeared.  For 
years  he  has  been  well  known  as  an  angler 
— not  with  hook  and  worm,  but  as  a  manipu- 
lator of  a  slender  rod  and  artificial  flies  in 
fishing  for  trout.  He  has  written  many 
articles  describing  his  fishing  experiences, 
which  include  tarpon  fishing  in  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  and  exciting  tussles  with  giant  tuna 
on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Although  as  a  man  of  wealth  and  position 
Northcliffe  has  moved  in  every  grade  of 


260  NORTHCLIFFE 

fashionable  society,  his  inclinations  are  not 
so  much  for  the  life  of  fashion  as  for  that 
of  achievement.  On  this  account  the  guests 
at  his  houses  are  usually  people  who  have 
done  something  useful  in  the  world,  either  in 
the  domain  of  .government,  in  the  industrial 
realm,  or  in  literature,  science,  or  art.  Any 
one  who  visits  him  is  practically  certain  to 
find  society  that  is  interesting. 

The  famous  newspaper  owner  attributes 
no  small  measure  of  his  success  to  his  mar- 
ried life,  which  has  been  singularly  un- 
clouded and  happy.  To-day  Lord  and 
Lady  Northcliffe  are  as  charming,  unaf- 
fected, and  delightful  a  couple  as  when  their 
joint  efforts  yielded  barely  fifty  dollars  a 
week. 

Not  only  is  the  wife  of  the  great  journal- 
ist one  of  the  most  interesting  and  attractive 
women  in  English  society,  but  she  is  also 
one  of  the  most  popular.  Her  manner  is 
English  in  its  graciousness,  her  voice  is 
English  in  its  softness  and  beauty  of  modu- 
lation. From  the  start  she  was  a  great 
help  to  her  husband,  both  through  her  keen 
powers  of  observation  and  through  her  un- 
usually good  judgment  in  literary  matters. 


Lady  Northcliffe 

From  a  recent  portrait 


SOCIAL  GLIMPSES  261 

At  a  later  period  her  help  was  equally 
important  in  the  social  realm. 

On  the  leading  questions  of  the  day  Lady 
Northcliffe  has  pronounced  views,  and  espe- 
cially concerning  the  question  of  suffrage. 
A  lover  of  the  home,  she  is  opposed  to  the 
suffrage  movement,  and  while  a  firm  be- 
liever in  vocational  life  for  women,  she  does 
not  consider  it  necessary  for  women  to  have 
votes  in  order  to  effect  reforms. 

On  one  of  her  visits  to  New  York,  Lady 
Northcliffe  was  interviewed  hy  a  woman 
writer,  and  in  the  course  of  this  chat  she 
gave  some  thoroughly  practical  views  on  the 
subject  of  marriage.  Among  other  things 
she  said :  "  Everyone  ought  to  marry,  be- 
cause marriage  is  a  woman's  sphere  and  a 
man's  success.  I  don't  believe  that  single 
men  ever  develop  the  best  there  is  in  them. 
It  is  but  natural  that  they  should  not,  be- 
cause their  natures  are  incomplete  without 
the  softening,  tempering  influence  of  woman. 
It  may  be  said  that  a  bad  marriage  wrecks 
many  a  man's  life,  but  that  simply  goes  to 
prove  how  greatly  marriage  counts. 

"  The  way  to  be  happily  married  is  to 
marry  one  who  has  the  proper  attributes  to 


262  NORTHCLIFFE 

complement  one's  nature.  There  is  nothing 
in  the  world  that  will  not  yield  to  such  a 
combination — social  success,  professional  suc- 
cess, financial  success,  and  the  greatest  suc- 
cess of  all,  real  happiness  in  the  home.  All 
these  are  possible  to  the  men  and  women  who 
marry  well.  To  find  a  suitable  affinity  it  is 
necessary  to  follow  that  oft-repeated  maxim, 
'  Know  thyself.'  That  is  quite  possible,  for 
we  are  not  such  enigmas  as  we  sometimes 
like  to  think.  And  if  we  are  perfectly  hon- 
est, which  it  is  to  our  interest  to  be,  we 
must  recognize  our  shortcomings  as  well 
as  our  good  qualities;  then  all  that  re- 
mains is  to  find  some  one  to  fill  up  the 
gaps." 

Such  words  of  plain  common  sense  need 
no  comment,  but  they  serve  to  prove  that 
Lord  Northcliffe  was  as  fortunate  in  matri- 
mony as  in  the  great  enterprises  which 
brought  him  wealth  and  fame. 

The  charities  of  this  interesting  couple  are 
unbounded,  especially  since  the  war  began. 
Having  no  children  of  his  own,  Lord  North- 
cliffe has  not  only  taken  a  deep  interest  in 
the  families  of  his  brothers,  but  has  been 
practically  father  by  adoption  to  a  host  of 


SOCIAL  GLIMPSES  263 

children  among  the  members  of  his  staff  and 
other  associates. 

Mrs.  Harmsworth,  the  mother  of  the  dis- 
tinguished journalist,  who  is  now  in  the 
seventies,  is  a  splendid  old  lady,  with  a  most 
kindly  manner,  and  just  the  suspicion  of  a 
high-class  Irish  accent.  An  intellectual 
woman,  familiar  with  the  best  in  literature 
and  art,  her  influence  on  her  sons  has  largely 
shaped  their  destinies.  She  has  the  peculiar 
distinction  of  being  the  only  woman  who  has 
four  sons  in  the  British  parliament — Lord 
Northcliffe  and  Lord  Rothermere  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  and  Cecil  and  Leicester 
Harmsworth  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

Besides  having  a  London  house  near  Hyde 
Park  Corner,  Mrs.  Harmsworth  has  an  old- 
fashioned  country  place,  Poynters  Hall  in 
Hertfordsire.  Wherever  she  is,  her  eldest 
son,  Lord  Northcliffe,  when  at  home,  seldom 
allows  a  day  to  pass  without  calling  upon 
her,  and  his  invariable  custom  is  to  set  aside 
one  day  each  week  to  be  spent  with  her. 
She  is  often  consulted  on  matters  of  im- 
portance, and  her  advice  is  greatly  prized. 
On  her  side  she  wields  a  firm  maternal 
despotism  in  guarding  the  health  of  her 


264  NORTHCLIFFE 

sons,  who  are  obedient  to  her  slightest 
wishes. 

In  addition  to  the  members  of  the  family 
already  mentioned,  there  are  three  Harms- 
worth  brothers  and  three  sisters,  all  but  one 
of  whom  are  married.  Of  the  brothers, 
Hildebrand,  who  was  connected  with  the 
periodical  business  for  a  short  time,  had 
some  attraction  to  journalism  and  bought 
the  Globe,  an  old,  conservative  London  eve- 
ning paper.  St.  John,  who  had  much  of  the 
enterprise  and  originality  that  characterize 
his  brother,  Lord  Northcliffe,  was  preparing 
to  enter  the  newspaper  business  twelve  years 
ago  when  he  met  with  an  automobile  accident 
which  crippled  him  for  life.  In  spite  of  this 
he  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  manage- 
ment of  a  successful  company  which  he 
formed  to  promote  the  sale  of  a  table  water, 
which  has  found  a  large  market  throughout 
the  world.  Vyvyan,  the  youngest  brother, 
had  no  inclination  for  journalism,  and  hav- 
ing bought  a  country  estate,  he  became  what 
is  called  in  England  "  a  gentleman  farmer." 

As  already  mentioned,  Lord  Northcliffe, 
when  plain  Alfred  Harmsworth,  received  a 
baronetcy  in  1904  and  became  Sir  Alfred 


SOCIAL  GLIMPSES  265 

Harmsworth.  In  1906  he  was  created  a 
peer  with  the  title  of  Baron  Northcliffe  of 
the  Isle  of  Thanet,  and  in  1917  he  received 
the  title  of  viscount.  On  his  accession  to  the 
peerage  he  adopted  the  unique  armorial  crest 
shown  on  the  title  page.  Two  rolls  of  paper, 
crossed  on  a  shield,  are  surrounded  with  bees 
(presumably  busy),  while  above  the  shield  a 
hand  grasps  a  third  roll  of  paper.  The 
shield  is  supported  by  two  gladiators  armed 
for  the  fray,  typical  of  the  eminent  journal- 
ist's combats  in  the  realms  of  newspapers 
and  politics.  Beneath  this  design  is  the  ap- 
propriate motto,  "  He  who  acts  diligently 
acts  well." 

Lord  Northcliffe's  brother,  Harold,  who 
was  raised  to  the  peerage  in  1914  as  Baron 
Rothermere  of  Rothermere,  Hemsted,  Kent, 
had  also  been  a  baronet  for  several  years. 
He  has  an  attractive  personality  and  is  ex- 
tremely popular  among  his  business  asso- 
ciates and  employees.  Recently  he  has  held 
the  important  post  of  Air  Minister,  having 
charge  of  the  department  which  superintends 
the  construction  and  maintenance  of  Britain's 
aerial  squadrons. 

The  terrible  sacrifices  entailed  by  the  war 


266  NORTHCLIFFE 

have  been  experienced  by  Lord  Rothermere 
to  the  fullest  degree.  In  February,  1918, 
his  eldest  son  and  heir  to  the  title,  Lieutenant 
Harold  Vyvyan  St.  George  Harmsworth, 
died  in  England  from  wounds  received  at 
the  Battle  of  Cambrai.  Lieutenant  Vere 
Sidney  Tudor  Harmsworth,  his  second  son, 
was  killed  in  action  in  1916. 

In  these  days  Lord  Northcliffe  is  seldom 
at  one  place  for  more  than  three  or  four 
days.  Being  a  man  of  action,  he  finds  re- 
laxation in  movement.  He  has  a  London 
house,  a  country  house,  and  at  least  four 
nooks  in  remote  places  in  which  he  finds  rest 
and  recreation.  One  of  them  is  a  cottage  on 
the  banks  of  a  celebrated  trout  stream,  and 
another  is  what  he  calls  a  "  sleeping  box," 
perched  high  on  a  lovely  hill  in  Surrey, 
its  whereabouts  being  known  to  only  a 
few  people*  He  calls  it  "  No  Hall,  No- 
where." 

Lord  Northcliffe  has  entertained  so  many 
of  his  American  friends  at  Sutton  Place, 
formerly  his  largest  country  house,  that  it 
may  be  of  interest  to  mention  that  he  has 
disposed  of  the  property  to  the  Duke  of 
Sutherland,  who  intends  to  make  his  home 


SOCIAL  GLIMPSES  267 

there  when  living  south  of  the  Tweed. 
There  are  few  English  manor  houses  to  com- 
pare with  Sutton  Place,  either  in  charm  of 
design  or  in  setting.  This  venerable  mansion 
was  built  between  1520  and  1530  by  Sir 
Richard  Weston,  one  of  the  "  Councillors  " 
of  Henry  VIII.  He  was  also  ambassador 
to  the  court  of  France.  While  in  France  Sir 
Richard  was  greatly  influenced  by  the  Ren- 
aissance architecture,  and  the  manner  in 
which  he  blended  it  with  the  Tudor  style  in 
building  his  home  at  Sutton  resulted  in  a 
mansion  unique  of  its  kind.  It  was  there 
that  Sir  Richard  entertained  Henry  VIII, 
and  other  distinguished  men  of  the 
time. 

Sutton  Place  is  about  thirty  miles  from 
London  and  not  far  from  the  quaint  old 
town  of  Guildford.  Constructed  of  red 
brick  and  terra-cotta,  now  mellowed  by  age, 
it  is  in  a  wonderful  state  of  preservation. 
Surrounding  it  is  a  beautiful  park  in  which 
there  are  many  trees  centuries  old,  while 
the  flower  gardens  are  noted  for  their  beauty, 
gardening  and  the  culture  of  roses  being 
one  of  Lady  Northcliffe's  hobbies.  A  few 
years  ago  some  American  robins  and  grey 


268  NORTHCLIFFE 

squirrels  were  imported  and  turned  loose  on 
the  estate.  These  are  familiar  objects  to- 
day, having  increased  rapidly. 

The  old  mansion  is  superbly  maintained, 
the  fine  oak  paneling  having  been  preserved, 
while  the  antique  furniture  and  objects  of 
art  in  the  principal  rooms  have  been  gath- 
ered with  rare  taste.  Many  charming  por- 
traits hang  in  the  ancient  hall,  the  walls  of 
which  are  ornamented  with  armor  and  im- 
plements of  the  chase.  In  recent  years  Lord 
and  Lady  Northcliffe  managed  to  recover 
many  of  the  belongings  of  the  place  which 
had  been  sold  or  otherwise  alienated. 
Equipped  with  all  the  comforts  and  con- 
veniences of  twentieth-century  life,  there  is 
no  discordant  note  in  the  atmosphere  of  this 
picturesque  Tudor  manor. 

Sutton  Place  has  a  romantic  and  tragic 
history.  Francis  Weston,  son  of  Sir  Rich- 
ard Weston,  who  built  the  house,  was  one  of 
the  reputed  lovers  of  Anne  Boleyn,  queen  of 
Henry  the  Eighth.  Having  been  convicted 
of  treason,  with  several  other  young  men,  he 
was  beheaded  on  Tower  Hill.  His  ghost  is 
traditionally  supposed  to  haunt  Sutton 
Place,  and  on  the  anniversary  of  his  death  is 


a 
a 

e  o 


c= 


SOCIAL  GLIMPSES  269 

said  to  pass  through  the  corridors  bearing 
the  severed  head  and  clanking  a  chain. 

The  tragic  fate  of  Francis  Weston  made 
no  difference  in  the  friendship  between 
Henry  the  Eighth  and  Sir  Richard,  the 
entire  Weston  family — father,  mother,  and 
the  son's  young  widow — having  continued  to 
accept  and  enjoy  the  king's  favors.  The 
last  male  Weston  died  in  1730,  leaving  a 
daughter  from  whom  the  present  owners  of 
the  property  are  descended.  As  the  estate  is 
entailed,  it  was  leased  to  Lord  Northcliffe. 

A  number  of  distinguished  Americans 
have  been  the  guests  of  Lord  and  Lady 
Northcliffe  at  Sutton  Place,  including 
Colonel  Roosevelt,  William  Jennings  Bryan, 
and  William  Dean  Howells. 

Northcliffe  still  retains  his  first  country 
house,  Elmwood,  on  the  coast  of  Kent,  which 
he  bought  with  the  early  profits  of  Answers. 
A  sentimental  interest  thus  attaches  to  this 
attractive  little  mansion,  which  is  a  quaint 
structure,  the  interior  very  homelike  and 
comfortable,  with  charming  rooms,  much  old 
furniture,  and  many  books. 

Elmwood  is  situated  in  a  part  of  Kent 
known  as  the  Isle  of  Thanet  and  adjoins 


270  NORTHCLIFFE 

the  village  of  St.  Peter's.  About  half  a  mile 
from  the  house  are  the  white  chalk  cliffs  that 
overlook  the  English  Channel.  On  one 
promontory,  the  North  Foreland,  stands  an 
important  lighthouse,  and  adjoining  this,  on 
part  of  the  Elmwood  estate,  is  a  point  de- 
scribed in  old  documents  as  '  Ye  North 
Cliffe."  It  was  from  this  place  that  the 
title  Northcliffe  was  derived. 

When  the  German  destroyers  attacked  the 
coast  of  Kent  in  the  summer  of  1917,  it  was 
easy  for  them  to  aim  at  Elmwood,  which  is 
almost  on  a  line  with  the  lighthouse.  On 
that  occasion  a  shell  passed  through  the 
house  and  partly  destroyed  the  library. 
Northcliffe,  who  escaped  injury,  at  once  tele- 
phoned to  the  staff  of  The  Times  that  "  they 
would  hear  with  mixed  feelings  that  he  was 
not  hurt." 

Until  recently  the  eminent  journalist  had 
a  house  in  the  ultra-fashionable  quarter  of 
London  adjacent  to  St.  James'  Palace, 
Marlborough  House,  and  Buckingham  Pal- 
ace, the  abodes  of  royalty.  Lord  North- 
cliffe's  former  residence,  22  St.  James' 
Place,  a  charming  old  mansion,  was  occupied 
in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century  by 


SOCIAL  GLIMPSES  271 

Thomas  Rogers,  the  banker  poet,  contempo- 
rary and  friend  of  Lord  Byron,  Tom  Moore, 
and  other  literary  celebrities.  Many  men 
and  women  who  figured  conspicuously  in  the 
history  of  that  period  visited  the  mansion  of 
the  poet,  who  violated  all  precedents  by  be- 
ing a  man  of  wealth. 

The  war  has  changed  Lord  Northcliffe's 
domestic  arrangements,  and  like  many  other 
people  of  distinction  he  has  been  caught  in 
the  wave  of  economy  that  has  swept  over 
England.  An  American  writer  who  called 
on  him  at  the  Times  office  recently,  and 
afterwards  went  home  with  him,  was  sur- 
prised to  find  that  he  was  occupying  quar- 
ters in  a  less  select  district.  "  Northcliffe's 
car  passed  Buckingham  Palace,"  says  this 
writer,  "  and  after  making  several  turns  it 
entered  Buckingham  Street,  a  narrow  thor- 
oughfare, almost  like  an  alley.  It  stopped 
in  front  of  a  row  of  small  houses,  and  Lord 
Northcliffe  got  out,  remarking:  '  This  is  my 
home,  number  eight.  The  house  next  door 
is  Lord  Lytton's.'  I  was  much  interested, 
and  went  inside  to  see  more  of  this  change  of 
state  as  compared  with  the  palatial  residence 
in  St.  James'  Place. 


272  NORTHCLIFFE 

"  On  the  ground  floor  there  was  a  room 
about  eighteen  feet  square  which  was  the 
dining  room,  furnished  neatly  and  plainly; 
in  the  rear  the  *  den/  and  then  a  large  hall 
with  a  stairway.  The  house  fronts  about 
twenty-five  feet  and  has  three  stories.  I 
should  say  that  $100  a  month  would  be  a 
pretty  stiff  rent  for  it. 

"  '  What  did  you  do  with  the  fine  house  in 
St.  James'  Place? '  I  asked. 

"  *  We  let  it  to  a  man  who  had  spent  five 
million  dollars  in  building  a  fine  house/  re- 
plied Lord  Northcliffe.  '  It  was  too  expen- 
sive to  maintain  in  war  times,  so  the  owner 
closed  it  up  and  came  down  to  what  he 
regarded  as  contraction  and  economy  in  St. 
James'  Place.  We,  in  turn,  moved  to  this 
little  house,  displacing  people  who  find  a 
flat  good  enough,  and  their  predecessors  in 
the  flat  doubtless  now  content  themselves  in 
lodgings.  We  keep  three  servants  here  when 
we  can  get  them.  With  the  money  saved  by 
living  in  Buckingham  Street  instead  of  St. 
James'  Place,  Lady  Northcliffe  is  able  to 
keep  and  support  a  hospital  of  her  own.  So 
far  from  finding  it  a  deprivation,  my  wife 


SOCIAL  GLIMPSES  273 

and  I  like  it.    It  is  less  trouble  and  there 
are  fewer  complications.' ' 

The  war  hospital  which  Lady  Northcliffe 
conducts  has  been  reserved  for  officers.  It 
contains  three  general  wards  and  a  private 
one,  which  has  had  the  honor  of  accommo- 
dating a  general.  From  the  windows  can 
be  seen  the  grounds  of  Mortimer  House,  one 
of  the  famous  London  mansions.  In  de- 
scribing the  establishment,  a  correspondent 
of  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette  recently  said: 
"  The  wards  have  been  decorated  with  un- 
erring good  taste  under  Lady  Northcliffe's 
personal  direction,  the  furniture  having 
been  obtained  from  one  of  Lord  North- 
cliff  e's  country  houses.  A  large  bowl  of 
flowers  beside  each  bed  completes  an  unmis- 
takably comfortable,  homelike  scheme. 
Lady  JXTorthcliffe  herself,  in  the  most  be- 
coming of  white  nursing  outfits,  moves  about 
like  the  presiding  angel  of  the  house,  with 
a  smile  on  her  lips  and  a  cheerful  word  for 
all.  She  is  as  much  at  home  in  the  little 
white  marble  operating  theater  (the  most 
complete  of  its  kind)  as  in  the  cosey,  firelit 
apartment  where  the  nurses  take  their  rest, 
>vhile  the  officers'  day  room,  furnished  and 


274  NORTHCLIFFE 

decorated  under  her  direction,  lacks  noth- 
ing the  most  ideal  home  could  provide. 
The  house,  which  ranks  as  a  primary  hos- 
pital, accommodates  twenty-one  cases,  and 
for  months  there  has  not  been  a  vacancy." 
Since  he  became  a  prominent  figure  in 
England,  Lord  Northcliffe's  activities  in  the 
social  world  have  been  usually  turned  in  a 
useful  direction,  a  tendency  which  was  no- 
ticeable even  in  his  youthful  days.  As  long 
ago  as  1894,  for  instance,  when  as  Alfred 
Harmsworth  he  had  achieved  success  and 
made  a  fortune  at  the  early  age  of  twenty- 
nine,  he  created  a  stir  by  promoting  an 
Arctic  expedition.  The  Jackson-Harms- 
worth  Expedition,  as  it  was  called,  was 
headed  by  Frederick  Jackson,  F.R.G.S.  In 
September,  1894,  the  party  sailed  for  the 
Arctic  Ocean  in  a  staunch  whaling  vessel, 
the  Windward,  the  plan  being  to  establish  a 
camp  in  Franz  Josef  Land  and  to  make  a 
dash  from  there  to  the  pole.  This  project, 
however,  ended  in  failure,  although  the  ex- 
pedition proved  successful  in  other  ways. 
Not  only  were  some  important  observations 
made,  but  one  day  Nansen,  who  had  left  his 
ship  the  Fram  drifting  in  the  polar  sea,  came 


SOCIAL  GLIMPSES  275 

walking  over  the  ice  in  an  attempt  to  reach 
a  settlement  on  land,  and  was  unexpect- 
edly rescued  by  a  hunting  party  from  the 
Windward.  Nansen  returned  with  Jackson 
to  England.  In  1898  the  Windward  was 
presented  to  Lieutenant  Peary  for  use  in  the 
Arctic  region. 

Another  early  social  event  which  excited 
much  interest  occurred  in  1897,  when  North- 
cliffe,  then  Alfred  Harmsworth,  entertained 
at  his  house  in  Berkeley  Square  the  premiers 
of  the  British  colonies  who  visited  London  to 
attend  Queen  Victoria's  jubilee. 

Lord  and  Lady  Northcliffe  have  traveled 
extensively,  and  to  this  fact  is  largely  due 
the  busy  journalist's  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  world.  He  has  seen  practically  every 
country  in  Europe,  and  in  addition  to  fre- 
quent visits  to  the  United  States  and  Canada 
his  travels  have  taken  him  to  Egypt  and 
India. 

During  his  visit  to  India  in  1897,  he  made 
a  careful  study  of  native  questions,  and  since 
then  has  done  much  to  dispel  misconception 
and  pave  the  way  for  warmer  relations  be- 
tween the  Indian  Empire  and  Great  Britain. 
His  efforts  in  fostering  good  will  between 


276  NORTHCLIFFE 

the  two  countries  cannot  be  easily  gauged 
as  to  results,  but  it  is  certain  that  they  have 
done  much  toward  drawing  the  bonds  still 
closer  together. 

In  the  course  of  his  travels  Northcliffe  has 
seen  most  of  the  world's  famous  sights. 
Those  that  made  the  greatest  impression 
upon  him  were  the  Roman  Forum,  the  Taj- 
Mahal  in  India,  the  Grand  Canon  of  Ari- 
zona, and  Niagara  Falls,  which,  he  says, 
"  one  does  not  begin  to  understand  until  it 
has  been  studied  for  at  least  three  days." 
Naturally,  he  has  met  many  celebrities,  and 
there  are  probably  few  heads  of  European 
governments,  crowned  or  uncrowned,  with 
whom  he  has  failed  to  become  acquainted. 
A  monarch  for  whom  he  has  a  great  regard 
is  King  Alfonso  of  Spain.  One  of  his  first 
meetings  with  that  able  ruler  was  at  Pau, 
in  the  south  of  France,  about  nine  years 
ago,  when  a  number  of  distinguished  people 
gathered  there  to  witness  the  first  trial  flights 
of  the  Wright  aeroplane.  At  that  time 
King  Alfonso  and  Northcliffe  discussed  the 
future  of  aviation  and  agreed  that  the 
Wright  brothers  had  created  a  new  era. 
The  king,  it  may  be  added,  is  numbered 


SOCIAL  GLIMPSES  277 

among  the  readers  of  the  London  Times; 
and  the  same  is  true  of  other  monarchs,  in- 
cluding even  the  Kaiser,  who,  in  spite  of  the 
war,  is  said  to  insist  on  getting  his  Times 
regularly. 

True  democrat  that  he  is,  however,  North- 
cliffe  prefers  the  company  of  newspaper  folk 
to  that  of  fashionable  society,  and  would 
probably  rather  meet  a  newspaper  ruler  than 
a  crowned  head.  If  the  nobility  are  on  one 
side  of  the  road  and  the  members  of  the 
journalistic  profession  on  the  other,  give 
Lord  Northcliffe  a  chance  and  he  will  al- 
ways herd  with  those  who  have  been  his  life- 
long associates,  with  whom  he  retains  sym- 
pathy and  affinity,  and  whose  ability  he  rates 
higher  than  ability  in  any  other  line  of  hu- 
man endeavor.  He  is  quick  tempered,  but 
also  good  hearted  to  the  core,  and  no  fellow 
craftsman  ever  applies  to  him  in  vain  for 
legitimate  assistance  in  his  work.  He  is 
never  ashamed  but  always  proud  of  his  pro- 
fession, and  is  willing  in  any  company  to 
stand  up  and  be  counted  with  a  reporter. 

The  versatile  journalist  has  been  described 
as  a  man  who  has  the  hardest  shell  and  the 
softest  heart  in  England.  As  an  instance 


278 NORTHCLIFFE 

of  his  good  will  toward  newspaper  workers 
a  story  is  told  of  a  kindly  act  that  he  per- 
formed when  the  Supreme  War  Council  met 
at  Versailles.  Just  before  the  first  session 
opened,  the  British  Prime  Minister, — Lloyd 
George, — Mr.  Balfour,  Lord  Milner,  and 
Earl  Reading  held  a  preliminary  meeting  at 
the  Hotel  de  Crillon.  At  that  moment  a 
little  woman  reporter  stopped  Northcliife  at 
the  door  of  the  hotel  and  asked  for  his  help. 
She  wanted  to  get  an  interview  with  Lloyd 
George,  which  seemed  to  be  utterly  impos- 
sible at  such  a  time.  Northcliffe,  however, 
had  known  her  and  regarded  her  highly,  and 
was  at  once  keen  to  render  assistance  in  ob- 
taining what  she  wanted.  He  went  into  the 
meeting  to  see  what  could  be  done,  and  when 
he  came  out,  he  said :  "  I  interrupted  them, 
but  apologized  and  explained  matters."  On 
the  way  from  the  room  to  the  carriage  the 
woman  reporter,  through  NorthclinVs  good 
offices,  was  enabled  to  have  a  chat  with  the 
Prime  Minister  and  get  a  story  that  went 
all  over  the  world  with  credit  to  herself. 

In  private  life  Lord  Northcliffe,  as  al- 
ready observed,  makes  it  a  rule  to  find  rest 
and  recreation,  but  the  war,  which  has 


SOCIAL  GLIMPSES  279 

created  abnormal  conditions,  has  compelled 
him  to  modify  this  excellent  rule.  In  these 
days  of  unexpected  happenings,  it  is  neces- 
sary for  him  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  news  as 
he  rests,  and  occasionally  he  must  find  that 
the  softer  pleasures  of  repose  and  the  fur- 
ther reaches  of  reflection  are  beyond  him. 
By  no  stretch  of  imagination  could  any  one 
picture  Lord  Northcliffe  watching  the  clouds 
and  indifferent  to  the  hour  at  which  the 
postman  should  bring  the  morning  papers. 

A  glimpse  of  ISTorthclifiVs  strenuous  life 
at  the  present  day  was  recently  given  by 
Major  Eric  Fisher  Wood  in  an  article  that 
appeared  in  the  Century.  On  his  arrival  at 
Elm  wood,  where  he  was  a  guest,  Major 
Wood  had  a  chat  with  his  host  in  the  library, 
a  high-ceilinged  apartment,  lined  with  shelves 
containing  every  conceivable  kind  of  refer- 
ence volume.  Several  tables  were  piled  up 
with  letters,  telegrams,  and  papers  which 
the  secretaries  were  required  to  find  in- 
stantly whenever  needed.  On  one  table 
were  placed  several  telephones,  which  were 
in  almost  constant  use. 

"  After  dinner,"  says  this  writer,  "  we  ad- 
journed to  a  little  sitting  room  and  there  sat 


280  NORTHCLIFFE 

around  an  open  fire,  while  Lord  North- 
cliffe  lay  down  at  full  length  on  a  couch  by 
the  fireside.  His  secretaries  were  com- 
manded to  bring  the  gramophone  and  to 
play  furiously.  They  played  ragtime  and 
one  steps  from  8.45  until  10  o'clock,  taking 
turns  at  shifting  the  records  and  changing 
needles.  Meanwhile  conversation  continued 
uninterruptedly  except  when  the  telephone 
bell  in  the  adjacent  hallway  rang  because  of 
business  so  important  that  his  editors  felt 
obliged  to  call  Northcliffe  even  in  the  midst 
of  his  sacred  period  of  '  rest.'  A  secretary 
wrote  down  the  message  and  then  came  to 
report. 

"During  the  period  between  dinner  and 
10  o'clock  Lord  Northcliffe  positively  re- 
fused to  get  up  from  his  couch  and  pre- 
tended to  be  resting  constantly.  It  was  easy 
to  see  that  even  when  his  body  rested  his 
subconscious  mind  was  as  alert  as  ever.  On 
one  occasion  a  secretary,  having  answered 
the  telephone,  reported  the  message,  and 
having  been  told  what  answer  to  transmit 
went  out  again  to  telephone,  shutting  the 
door  behind  him,  while  Northcliffe  resumed 
his  conversation.  The  secretary  in  the  hall 


SOCIAL  GLIMPSES  281 

outside,  in  repeating  in  the  telephone  North- 
cliffe's  reply,  got  one  word  wrong,  saying 
'  Thursday  '  instead  of  *  Monday.'  Despite 
the  discussion  which  was  going  on,  North- 
cliffe  heard  it  instantly,  and  through  the 
door,  as  quick  as  a  shot,  sent  another  sec- 
retary rushing  out  to  correct  the  mistake. 

"  At  9.30  he  ordered  a  secretary  to  tele- 
phone to  the  Times  office  and  obtain  the 
details  of  the  next  day's  news.  This  is  done 
every  evening,  that  Northcliffe  may  run  over 
the  day's  items  before  he  retires.  The  secre- 
tary was  gone  about  ten  minutes  and  brought 
back  six  or  eight  pages  of  shorthand,  begin- 
ning with  a  report  of  a  destroyer's  fight  in 
the  North  Sea  and  ending  with  a  resume 
of  a  violent  attack  upon  Northcliffe  by  some 
hostile  newspaper. 

"  It  is  always  a  most  illuminating  light 
upon  any  man's  character  to  observe  the 
attitude  with  which  he  sustains  the  abuse 
of  his  opponents,  and  it  was  therefore  with 
the  keenest  interest  that  I  watched  the  little 
scene.  Before  beginning  to  read  the  attack 
the  secretary  grinned  cheerfully  and  ex- 
pectantly, while  Lord  Northcliffe  lay  at  full 
length  upon  the  couch  with  his  head  turned 


282  NORTHCLIFFE 

in  attentive  interest,  smiling  a  smile  of 
happy  contentment  as  would  have  shamed 
the  famous  Cheshire  Cat.  It  was  not  difficult 
to  see  that  he  is  a  man  who  would  be  wretch- 
edly unhappy  without  a  plentiful  supply  of 
enemies,  and  that  he  values  their  attacks 
more  highly  than  the  plaudits  of  his  friends." 

Like  Harriman,  the  railroad  magnate, 
who  had  a  telephone  in  every  room,  North- 
cliffe  usually  contrives  to  keep  in  touch  with 
his  newspapers,  no  matter  how  far  from 
London  he  may  be.  Sometimes  he  picks  up 
a  piece  of  important  news  and  loses  no  time 
in  telephoning  it  to  one  of  his  papers.  With 
him  the  instinct  of  the  newspaper  man  is 
always  in  evidence.  How  well  it  is  put  to 
use  the  author  had  an  opportunity  of  ob- 
serving on  one  occasion  when  motoring  with 
the  keen-eyed  journalist  from  London  to 
Elmwood,  a  distance  of  nearly  seventy  miles. 
On  the  way  a  halt  for  luncheon  was  made 
at  an  old-fashioned  inn  close  to  a  small  vil- 
lage. 

Afterwards,  while  standing  at  the  door- 
way and  waiting  for  the  car  to  come  from 
the  garage,  Northcliffe  started  conversation 
with  an  old  man  who  was  seated  on  a  bench 


In  use  since  the  days  of  Henry  VIII,  this  ancient  room  is 
the  embodiment  of  quaint  picturesqueness 

Courtesy  of  Macmillan  Co. 


SOCIAL  GLIMPSES  283 

near  by.  A  quaint  old  figure,  wearing  a 
smockfrock,  the  venerable  countryman  might 
have  stepped  from  a  painting  by  Moreland. 
He  was  almost  ninety  years  old,  he  said, 
and  although  the  village  was  only  forty  miles 
from  London  he  had  never  been  to  the  city. 
He  seemed  to  have  been  quite  indifferent 
about  the  wonders  of  the  great  metropolis 
and  had  been  content  to  pass  his  days  in 
working  as  a  farm  laborer  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, seldom  venturing  more  than  a  few 
miles  away. 

"  An  excellent  idea  for  a  fourth-page 
article  in  the  Daily  Mail''  remarked  North- 
cliff  e,  as  he  made  a  note  in  his  memorandum 
book.  "  There  must  be  many  villages  of 
this  kind,  with  old-fashioned  people  and 
queer  customs,  even  in  these  days  of  auto- 
mobiles and  aeroplanes." 

Having  obtained  an  idea,  Northcliffe  was 
anxious  to  pay  for  it.  "  Now,  grandfather," 
said  he  to  the  old  inhabitant,  "  if  you  could 
have  anything  that  you  liked  in  this  world 
and  could  have  it  this  minute,  what  would 
you  choose? " 

Dazed  by  this  unexpected  visit  of  a  mod- 
ern Santa  Claus,  the  old  man  stammered 


284  NORTHCLIFFE 

that  he  would  like  nothing  better  than  two 
pounds  of  the  best  tobacco,  some  new  clay 
pipes  with  long  stems,  and  a  sovereign  ($5). 
His  grandchildren,  he  explained,  took  good 
care  of  him,  but  there  were  times  when  he 
felt  that  he  would  like  to  have  a  little  change 
of  his  own  to  do  what  he  pleased  with,  and 
occasionally  his  supply  of  "  baccy "  ran 
short. 

"  You  shall  have  them  at  once,"  said 
Northcliffe.  Turning  to  the  landlord  of  the 
inn,  he  asked  him  to  have  the  tobacco  and 
pipes  brought  out  immediately.  When  they 
were  produced  and  handed  to  the  near  cen- 
tenarian, Northcliffe  gave  him  the  sovereign, 
with  a  shake  of  the  hand,  and  told  him  that 
he  hoped  he  would  live  to  be  over  a  hundred. 

It  was  clearly  a  red-letter  day  in  the  life 
of  this  ancient  toiler,  whose  delight  was  evi- 
dent as  he  tried  to  find  words  to  express  his 
thanks.  That,  however,  is  not  the  end  of  the 
story. 

A  few  moments  later  a  woman  came  along 
the  road,  tired  and  bedraggled  from  a  long 
tramp.  Stopping  at  the  inn  doorway,  she 
asked  Northcliffe  for  a  few  pennies  to  get 
food  and  drink.  He  handed  her  some  money 


SOCIAL  GLIMPSES  285 

and  asked  her  how  far  she  had  come  and  how 
she  made  her  living.  She  had  walked  over 
ten  miles  that  morning,  she  answered,  and 
she  followed  the  races  for  a  living.  "  I  am 
a  gipsy,  sir,"  she  added ;  "  I  sell  papers  and 
other  things  at  the  tracks,  and  sometimes 
when  the  police  ain't  looking  I  tell  for- 
tunes." 

'  You  won't  tell  mine,"  remarked  North- 
cliff  e,  with  a  smile,  "  because  I'm  opposed 
to  every  form  of  superstition,  and  I  have 
never  had  my  fortune  told." 

4  You  don't  need  to  have  it  told,  sir,"  re- 
plied the  woman  as  she  studied  him  closely. 
'  You  have  gained  everything  you  ever  set 
out  to  get." 

"A  good  character  reader,  at  any  rate," 
said  Northcliffe.  "  Now,"  he  went  on,  "  you 
say  you  follow  the  races.  I  suppose  you  bet 
whenever  you  have  any  money." 

'  Yes,  sir,"  answered  the  woman,  "  some- 
times I  do  put  a  few  shillings  on  one  of  the 
horses." 

"  Now,  what  paper  do  you  get  the  best 
tips  from? "  asked  Northcliife. 

To  quote  the  reply  would  be  a  breach  of 
confidence,  but  the  gist  of  it  was  that  one 


286  NORTHCLIFFE 

of  Northcliffe's  papers  had  formerly  beaten 
all  others  with  its  sporting  news,  but  re- 
cently it  had  fallen  behind  and  a  rival  paper 
was  giving  better  information  on  racing 
topics. 

"  I  have  suspected  that  for  some  time," 
commented  Northcliffe,  as  he  made  another 
note,  "  and  I  know  the  reason  of  this  falling 
behind.  It  will  be  remedied  very  promptly." 

The  result  was  that  a  few  days  later  there 
was  a  shake-up  in  the  editorial  department 
of  the  offending  paper,  which  had  such  a 
good  effect  that  the  sporting  news  was  soon 
in  the  lead  again  and  this  paper  once  more 
eclipsed  all  its  competitors. 

While  he  has  an  eye  for  news,  Northcliffe 
seldom  loses  sight  of  the  humorous  side  of 
things,  and  keenly  enjoys  a  queer  situation. 
Perhaps  it  is  his  ability  to  extract  humor 
from  daily  life  that  has  enabled  him  to  cope 
with  the  heavy  responsibilities  and  hard 
work  that  he  has  had  to  face.  One  of  the 
most  amusing  incidents  that  he  ever  noted 
occurred  in  Scotland.  On  one  occasion  he 
visited  the  Hebrides  Islands,  where  Gaelic 
is  the  prevailing  language.  Many  of  the 
people  there  are  so  poverty-stricken  that 


SOCIAL  GLIMPSES  287 

they  live  in  rude  stone  huts,  thatched  with 
heather.  During  a  storm,  the  observant 
traveler  sought  refuge  from  the  rain  in  a 
rather  pretentious  hut  which  served  as  a 
village  store.  He  soon  noticed  that  bare- 
footed children  came  in  at  intervals,  handed 
the  storekeeper  two  or  three  eggs,  said  some- 
thing in  Gaelic,  and  received  little  packets 
in  exchange. 

"What  is  the  meaning  of  this?"  asked 
Northcliffe. 

The  storekeeper,  who  spoke  English,  ex- 
plained that  as  money  was  scarce  among 
the  people,  they  used  eggs  as  currency,  and 
children  were  sent  to  buy  an  egg's  worth  of 
tea,  coffee,  sugar,  or  other  things.  When 
he  had  a  sufficiently  large  supply  of  eggs  he 
shipped  them  to  the  mainland  for  sale. 

While  the  conversation  was  proceeding,  a 
little  girl  peeped  through  the  doorway  some- 
what bashfully  and  at  last  summoned  up 
courage  to  enter  the  store.  She  whispered 
something,  whereupon  the  storekeeper,  smil- 
ing, handed  her  a  packet  without  receiving 
anything  in  payment. 

As  she  disappeared,  Northcliffe  said, 
"  I'm  sure  there's  a  good  story  in  this." 


288  NORTHCLIFFE 

"  You're  right,"  said  the  storekeeper,  "  it 
was  funny.  She  said :  '  Mother  says  will 
you  trust  her  for  an  egg's  worth  of  tea,  as 
the  hen  hasn't  laid  yet.' ' 

Like  the  Caliph  Haroun-al-Raschid  of 
old,  Northcliffe  is  able  to  wander  about  the 
country  without  being  recognized  by  those 
whom  he  interviews.  For,  strangely  enough, 
while  he  is  declared  by  his  admirers  to  be 
the  biggest  man  in  England  and  has  even 
been  termed  the  biggest  man  in  the  world, 
he  is  less  known  by  sight  to  the  people  of 
his  own  country  than  many  a  minor  celeb- 
rity. His  power  in  Great  Britain  surpasses 
that  of  any  man  who  does  not  hold  office, 
his  name  is  on  everybody's  lips,  his  portrait 
frequently  appears  in  the  newspapers,  and 
articles,  interviews,  and  editorials  concerning 
him  are  constantly  published  in  the  British 
and  American  press;  yet  he  can  walk  about 
London  without  recognition  except  by  a  few 
people.  During  the  months  that  he  spent 
in  New  York  in  1917,  as  head  of  the  British 
War  Mission,  he  was  seen  almost  daily  by 
many  people  as  he  left  his  offices  in  Fifth 
Avenue,  but  only  a  few  newspapermen  were 
able  to  identify  him. 


SOCIAL  GLIMPSES  289 

King  George  cannot  leave  Buckingham 
Palace  without  attracting  a  large  crowd. 
Lloyd  George  is  as  well  known  by  sight 
as  his  views  are  known  by  his  speeches  and 
political  actions.  Alfred  James  Balfour's 
attenuated  form  is  immediately  recognized; 
while  Kitchener,  from  the  days  of  his  South 
African  triumph  to  the  time  that  he  went 
to  his  death  off  the  Orkneys,  was  greeted 
whenever  he  appeared  in  public.  Even 
Colonel  Roosevelt  found  that  his  identity 
was  familiar  to  the  people  of  London  when 
he  visited  England  on  his  return  from 
Africa.  Northcliffe,  however,  retains  and 
enjoys  the  fullest  degree  of  anonymity. 

Most  celebrities  would  resent  this  lack  of 
popular  recognition,  but  to  Northcliffe  it  is 
a  manifest  advantage;  for  while  he  is  the 
world's  foremost  newspaper  owner,  he  is  able 
to  experience  all  the  variety  and  excitement 
of  the  journalist's  life,  and  this  is  worth 
more  to  him  than  any  amount  of  public  ac- 
claim. His  social  life  is  full  of  variety  and 
originality,  and  that  is  probably  the  reason 
why  those  who  have  glimpsed  it  find  that 
it  abounds  in  what  newspapers  term  deep 
human  interest  and  material  for  live  stories. 


X 

AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES 

EVERY  American  who  meets  Lord  North- 
clrffe  is  impressed  by  what  might  be  termed 
his  adopted  Americanism,  a  characteristic 
which  was  noticeable  even  in  his  youthful 
days.  At  the  present  time  no  other  living 
Englishman  knows  or  understands  us  as 
well  as  he.  Having  traveled  extensively  in 
this  country,  he  is  one  of  the  few  English- 
men who  have  really  caught  the  American 
spirit,  and  who  can  enter  into  the  American 
point  of  view. 

Northcliffe's  journeys  have  taken  him 
from  Maine  to  California,  from  the  Great 
Lakes  to  New  Orleans;  and  he  has  seen 
Canada  from  east  to  west.  He  is  a  close 
observer,  and  life  in  the  great  American 
cities  has  always  interested  him.  By  his 
thorough  knowledge  of  local  conditions,  he 
can  discuss  the  enterprise  of  New  York,  the 
culture  of  Boston,  the  growth  of  Chicago, 

290 


AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES    291 

and  the  attractions  of  Washington.  He 
knows  all  about  our  great  industrial  centers. 
The  wonderful  possibilities  of  San  Francisco 
have  not  escaped  his  attention,  and  he  has 
made  the  rounds  of  Cincinnati  and  St. 
Louis. 

During  his  frequent  visits,  in  recent  years, 
he  has  become  acquainted  with  large  num- 
bers of  representative  Americans.  He  is 
known  to  a  legion  of  newspapermen,  from 
reporters  to  newspaper  owners;  he  has 
talked  finance  with  our  great  financiers  and 
manufacturing  with  our  captains  of  in- 
dustry, and  has  also  found  time  to  discuss 
public  affairs  with  some  of  our  foremost 
politicians.  He  has  been  greeted  by  two  of 
our  Presidents.  In  New  York,  at  Newport, 
and  elsewhere  he  has  penetrated  the  inner 
circles  of  fashionable  society  and  has  many 
friends  among  the  leaders  of  wealth  and 
culture. 

As  the  result  of  his  study  and  observa- 
tions Lord  Northcliffe's  knowledge  of  Amer- 
ican history  and  social  conditions  surprises 
every  American  who  talks  with  him. 
When  he  wants  to  illustrate  society,  for 
instance,  he  links  the  Bowery  with  White- 


292  NORTHCLIFFE 

chapel  or  Wall  Street  with  Lombard 
Street. 

Once  when  he  was  traveling  from  Wash- 
ington to  New  York  with  some  newspaper- 
men, one  of  them  happened  to  mention  that 
the  inventor  of  the  first  submarine  was 
Robert  Fulton,  and  added  that  a  monument 
ought  to  be  erected  in  Fulton's  birthplace. 
Northcliffe  took  obvious  satisfaction  in  inter- 
jecting: "  Yes,  I  know — Robert  Fulton 
was  born  about  ten  miles  from  where  the 
train  now  is,  in  Lancaster  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania." 

While  a  band  in  New  York  was  playing 
some  ragtime  selections,  somebody  in  North- 
cliffe's  party  started  to  tell  the  story  of 
Irving  Berlin.  Northcliffe  stopped  the 
would-be  story  teller  by  remarking:  "  I 
have  met  Berlin.  Isn't  it  extraordinary  that 
he  should  write  all  that  music  without  know- 
ing a  note? " 

Even  in  his  great  liking  for  America's 
national  game,  baseball,  Northcliffe's  Amer- 
icanism is  distinctively  shown.  Whenever  he 
is  in  the  United  States  during  the  baseball 
season  and  has  time  to  spare,  he  is  sure  to 
attend  at  least  one  of  the  principal  games 


An  Exciting  Moment 

Lord  Northcliffe  as  a  "fan,"  watching  a  baseball  game 

in  New  York.  ©Western  Newspaper  Union 


AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES     293 

of  the  World's  Series.  In  1917  he  was 
among  the  spectators  in  the  press  gallery 
when  the  Giants  and  White  Sox  contested 
for  the  championship  in  New  York.  A 
photograph  of  the  distinguished  "  fan,"  taken 
on  that  occasion,  has  been  reproduced  as  an 
illustration  for  the  present  chapter. 

When  the  White  Sox  and  Giants  visited 
London  a  few  years  ago,  in  the  course  of 
their  tour  round  the  world,  Lord  North- 
cliffe  did  everything  in  his  power  to  make 
their  public  appearances  a  success.  His 
newspapers  devoted  a  large  amount  of  space 
to  explanations  of  baseball  and  aroused  so 
much  interest  in  the  sport  that  the  king, 
accompanied  by  his  suite,  attended  one  of 
the  games,  which  was  witnessed  by  25,000 
spectators. 

In  his  familiarity  with  such  matters  as 
baseball  Northcliffe  reveals  his  amazing  store 
of  knowledge  and  equally  amazing  memory. 
He  has  met  almost  everybody  worth  know- 
ing, and  he  never  forgets.  When  a  man 
becomes  preoccupied  with  his  own  greatness, 
he  likes  to  do  most  of  the  talking.  North- 
cliffe, on  the  contrary,  still  listens  more  than 
he  talks,  as  a  good  journalist  should.  He 


294  NORTHCLIFFE 

gives  much  information,  but  he  receives 
much  in  return.  In  fact,  he  is  the  sort  of 
man  who  always  interviews  the  interviewer. 

Northcliffe's  knowledge  of  American  local 
history  surprised  a  New  York  friend  who 
took  him  on  an  automobile  trip  through  an 
interesting  part  of  New  England.  Not  only 
was  the  British  visitor  thoroughly  well  in- 
formed in  regard  to  colonial  history,  but  he 
was  equally  familiar  with  the  details  of  the 
Revolutionary  War  and  their  connection 
with  towns  which  were  passed  on  the 
journey. 

This  recalls  the  fact  that  while  North- 
cliffe  has  always  been  an  admirer  of  the 
United  States  and  his  newspapers  have  been 
consistently  pro-American,  he  is  intelligent 
enough  not  to  be  a  strong  believer  in  much 
of  the  "  Hands  across  the  Sea "  talk  that 
is  heard  at  times.  What  he  believes  is  that 
the  chief  community  of  ideals  between  the 
Briton  and  American  lies  in  their  mutual 
love  of  fair  play  and  their  adherence  to  the 
principles  of  freedom  achieved  in  the  Eng- 
lish Revolution  of  1640  and  the  American 
Revolution  of  1776. 

In  discussing  this  subject  not  long  ago, 


AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES    295 

he  remarked :  ;<  There  ought  to  be  a  strong 
feeling  of  sympathy  between  the  people  of 
Great  Britain  and  of  the  United  States  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  they  are  largely  of 
the  same  race.  There  is  a  great  friendship 
for  Americans  on  our  side  of  the  Atlantic, 
and  we  take  pride  in  the  achievements  of  the 
United  States  during  the  past  hundred  years 
under  the  leadership  of  men  who,  in  every 
stage  of  the  country's  development,  have 
usually  borne  English  names." 

Most  international  misunderstandings, 
Northcliife  believes,  might  be  prevented  if 
the  nations  were  better  acquainted  with  each 
other.  He  is  therefore  a  strong  advocate 
of  travel  as  an  educator.  Britons  and  Amer- 
icans, he  is  convinced,  would  be  much  better 
friends  if  they  traveled  more  in  each  other's 
countries,  although  conditions  in  this  respect, 
he  admits,  are  improving.  In  giving  his 
views  on  British- American  relations,  he  said 
recently:  "The  vast  masses  of  people  in 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  are 
really  inlanders;  they  seldom  travel  out  of 
their  own  country.  I  suppose  that  the  num- 
ber of  Americans  who  know  anything  of  the 
British  Empire  by  personal  travel  is  less 


296  NORTHCLIFFE 

than  a  half  per  cent.  The  Englishman  who 
has  lived  for  three  or  four  months  in  the 
midst  of  American  family  life,  or  an  Ameri- 
can who  has  resided  in  any  part  of  the  Brit- 
ish Empire,  begins  to  realize  that  Britons 
and  Americans  are  singularly  alike.  The 
fact  that  they  speak  the  same  language,  with 
minor  variations,  renders  it  speedily  possible 
for  those  who  have  not  advanced  in  years 
of  prejudice  to  understand  and  therefore  to 
like  each  other." 

Northcliffe  paid  his  first  visit  to  this  coun- 
try in  the  early  part  of  1894,  when,  as  Al- 
fred Harmsworth,  he  had  started  his  weekly 
papers,  laid  the  foundation  of  his  fortune, 
and  reached  the  first  stage  of  his  journey 
toward  fame.  Although  he  had  become  well 
known  in  England,  at  that  time,  as  the  pub- 
lisher of  Answers,  his  visit  to  New  York  was 
unnoticed  by  any  of  the  local  newspapers. 

During  a  stay  of  two  months  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic,  the  young  publisher  visited 
Boston,  Montreal,  and  Quebec,  and  also 
made  a  trip  to  the  Gulf  Coast  of  Florida 
for  some  tarpon  fishing.  Before  leaving 
New  York  he  investigated  publishing  con- 
ditions thoroughly,  and  among  other  things 


AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES     297 

made  a  study  of  the  distribution  methods  of 
the  American  News  Company,  into  which 
he  was  given  an  insight  by  the  late  Patrick 
Farrelly,  at  that  time  president  of  the  great 
organization. 

Some  New  York  publishers  who  were  told 
of  Harmsworth's  success  were  highly  skep- 
tical, and  were  unable  to  believe  that  a  mere 
youth  had  started  some  cheap  papers  and 
had  made  a  large  fortune  in  less  than  five 
years.  When  told  the  story  they  shook  their 
heads  and  frankly  confessed  that  they  could 
not  credit  it. 

Nearly  seven  years  later — at  the  end  of 
December,  1900 — Alfred  Harmsworth  vis- 
ited New  York  again,  but  on  this  occasion 
the  news  of  his  coming  had  preceded  him. 
On  his  arrival  he  was  interviewed  by  re- 
porters and  snapped  by  camera  men,  the 
newspapers  having  reserved  a  large  amount 
of  space  for  accounts  of  the  enterprising 
founder  of  the  Harmsworth  publications  and 
the  Daily  Mail.  Later  on  illustrated  articles 
appeared  in  the  Sunday  supplements,  some 
of  which  filled  an  entire  page,  while 
"  Harmsworth  stories "  were  sent  to  all 
parts  of  the  country  by  the  news  agencies. 


298  NORTHCLIFFE 

The  famous  journalist  obtained  still  fur- 
ther publicity  a  few  days  later  when  it  was 
announced  that,  at  the  request  of  Joseph 
Pulitzer,  he  had  arranged  to  take  charge  of 
the  New  York  World  on  the  night  of  De- 
cember 31,  and  superintend  the  issuance  of 
a  Twentieth  Century  Edition,  based  on  his 
own  ideas  of  what  the  newspaper  of  the  fu- 
ture was  likely  to  be.  This  experiment  was 
watched  with  great  interest  by  newspaper 
proprietors  throughout  the  United  States. 

On  December  31  the  World  published  the 
following  address  from  Alfred  Harmsworth 
to  readers  of  the  paper :  "  I  have  come  to 
the  United  States  to  exchange  ideas  on  jour- 
nalism, to  learn,  and  to  suggest.  The  editor 
of  the  New  York  World  has  given  me  com- 
plete control  of  his  magnificent  organization 
for  twenty-four  hours,  and  though  the  time 
is  brief  and  I  only  reached  this  country  on 
Thursday  last,  I  shall  appeal,  to-morrow,  to 
the  fair,  able,  and  intellectual  discrimination 
for  which  Americans  are  noted  the  world 
over.  I  feel  confident  that  my  system  of 
portable,  pocketable,  logically  arranged  jour- 
nalism will  meet  with  careful  consideration, 
and  that  from  the  invitation  I  shall  make  to 


AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES    299 

the  American  people  to  offer  suggestions  as 
to  what  is  wanted  in  the  newspapers  of  the 
twentieth  century  I  shall  receive  invaluable 
advice." 

On  assuming  charge  of  the  World  on  the 
evening  of  December  31,  Harmsworth  de- 
livered a  short  and  breezy  address  to  mem- 
bers of  the  staff,  in  which  he  asked  for  their 
cooperation  in  making  the  new  paper  a  suc- 
cess. As  a  joke  the  World  men  all  appeared 
in  evening  dress,  with  the  idea  of  impressing 
the  editor  pro  tern.  Harmsworth,  however, 
was  in  his  usual  businesslike  attire.  As  he 
glanced  round  the  room  his  eye  lighted  on 
one  of  the  editors  who  was  also  in  working 
garb.  "  That  man  has  the  right  sense  of 
humor,"  he  remarked  briskly.  "  He  shows 
some  originality,  too."  A  few  years  later 
this  World  man  was  invited  to  join  the  staff 
of  the  Daily  Mail  at  an  unusually  large  sal- 
ary, and  to-day  he  has  become  one  of  the 
principal  stockholders. 

On  January  1,  1901,  the  Twentieth  Cen- 
tury Edition  of  the  New  York  World  made 
its  appearance.  Harmsworth  had  issued  the 
paper  in  what  he  called  "  tabloid  form,"  or 
about  the  size  of  Collier's  Weekly,  with 


300  NORTHCLIFFE 

thirty-two  pages  and  four  columns  to  the 
page,  the  news  being  condensed  to  the  small- 
est limits.  No  story  exceeded  250  words  in 
length,  and  illustrations  were  dispensed  with. 
In  an  article  which  appeared  on  the  editorial 
page,  the  originator  of  this  new  idea  in  jour- 
nalism declared  that  the  paper  of  small  size 
had  the  following  good  points:  "It  is  an 
advantage  to  advertisers.  It  is  convenient 
for  reading  in  the  street  car  or  for  carrying 
in  the  pocket." 

Among  new  ideas  which  he  suggested  was 
this:  "It  is  impossible  for  the  busy  man  to 
keep  track  of  new  books.  I  would  therefore 
employ  a  staff  of  competent  editors  to  exam- 
ine all  new  books  that  are  coming  into  the 
world  each  year,  by  good  authors  of  all  coun- 
tries. I  would  provide  a  careful  condensa- 
tion of  every  new  book  or  publication  worth 
reading." 

As  to  the  suggestion  last  mentioned,  that 
has  already  been  followed  by  the  American 
press  in  recent  years,  most  of  the  important 
newspapers  having  issued  weekly  literary 
supplements. 

That  Harmsworth  was  right  in  his  idea 
of  news  condensation  has  been  proved  by  the 


AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES    301 

experience  of  most  newspaper  readers,  the 
majority  of  whom  simply  glance  at  the  head- 
lines and  seldom  take  the  trouble  to  read 
entire  stories  of  a  column  or  more.  On  the 
staff  of  the  Daily  Mail,  it  may  be  added, 
reporters  are  not  paid  by  the  amount  of 
space  they  fill,  as  in  this  country,  but  accord- 
ing to  their  ability  to  produce  an  interesting 
story  in  the  smallest  compass. 

What  the  proprietor  of  the  New  York 
World  thought  of  the  "  tabloid  "  idea  was 
shown  by  the  fact  that  on  January  2  the 
paper  was  issued  in  its  usual  form.  Many 
publishers,  it  is  true,  commended  the  Harms- 
worth  idea,  and  Thomas  A.  Edison,  among 
other  celebrities,  hailed  tabloid  journalism  as 
a  great  improvement;  but  the  general  ver- 
dict in  American  newspaper  circles  was  de- 
cidedly against  it.  Newspaper  experts  who 
criticized  the  tabloid  form  contended  that  it 
was  unsuited  to  American  conditions,  that 
American  readers  preferred  long  stories,  and 
that  advertisers  required  large  space.  Frank 
A.  Munsey,  who  expressed  this  opinion, 
said:  "  The  large  sheet  is  not  only  easier  to 
read  but  is  more  impressive,  while  it  also 
gives  advertisers  greater  room.  What  is 


302  NORTHCLIFFE 

still  more  important  is  the  fact  that  the 
small  paper  is  not  a  money  bringer." 

In  spite  of  these  unfavorable  views,  the 
far-sighted  British  journalist  has  never 
changed  his  mind  in  regard  to  the  tabloid 
principle,  and  still  believes  that  compactness 
of  form  and  brevity  will  distinguish  the 
newspaper  of  the  future.  In  an  interview 
a  few  years  ago  he  said:  "  American  news- 
papers are  afflicted  with  what  I  call  the  size 
disease.  A  great  deal  of  space  is  wasted  on 
trivialities,  such  as  unnecessary  illustrations. 
For  instance,  in  a  New  York  paper  that  I 
was  reading  to-day  I  noticed  a  story  of  a 
woman  who  had  been  run  over  by  an  auto- 
mobile. This  story  was  accompanied  by  a 
picture  of  the  car.  Now  what  is  the  use  of 
such  a  picture  ?  It  is  just  a  common  auto- 
mobile, seen  by  hundreds.  Who  is  wiser  for 
seeing  the  picture  ?  The  story  could  have 
been  told  in  four  lines,  but  half  a  column 
was  devoted  to  it. 

"  Condensation  will  be  the  feature  of  the 
coming  newspaper.  In  fact,  we  have  edu- 
cated the  British  public  to  appreciate  con- 
densed news,  and  you  will  come  to  it,  in  this 
country,  in  time.  American  business  men 


A  Snapshot   (1901) 

At  the  St.  Augustine,  Florida,  Golf  Club 


AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES     303 

have  told  me  that  they  cannot  read  half  the 
stories  in  the  newspapers,  because  the  ar- 
ticles are  much  too  long.  They  simply  read 
the  headlines.  That  is  why  I  say  that  Amer- 
ican newspapers  are  suffering  from  the  size 
disease  in  their  news  reports,  in  the  size  of 
their  pages,  the  numher  of  their  pages,  and 
their  general  make-up.  They  are  too  un- 
wieldy." 

As  to  the  size  of  American  newspapers, 
strangely  enough  the  managers  of  the  New 
York  subways  have  apparently  been  con- 
verted to  the  tabloid  idea.  Illustrated  post- 
ers were  recently  placed  in  all  the  trains 
requesting  passengers  to  fold  their  news- 
papers while  reading  them,  because  large 
sheets,  held  at  arm's  length,  frequently  cause 
annoyance  to  fellow  travelers.  The  paper 
famines  in  recent  years,  with  the  consequent 
increasing  cost  of  white  paper,  have  also 
served  to  call  attention  to  the  advantages 
of  smaller  newspapers,  and  some  adaptation 
of  the  tabloid  idea  may  eventually  become 
general. 

It  is  interesting  to  add  that  as  long  ago 
as  1875  Charles  A.  Dana,  of  the  New  York 
Sun,  made  a  strong  plea  for  condensation. 


304  NORTHCLIFFE 

"  The  American  newspaper  reader,"  he  said, 
"  demands  of  an  editor  that  news  and  dis- 
cussions shall  not  be  presented  in  solid 
chunks,  but  so  condensed  and  clarified  that 
he  shall  be  relieved  of  the  necessity  of  wad- 
ing through  a  treatise  to  get  a  fact  or  spend- 
ing time  on  a  dilated  essay  to  get  a  bite  at 
the  argument."  "No  one  had  a  better  idea 
of  newspaper  making  than  the  Sun's  famous 
editor,  so  that  his  opinion  is  of  special 
value. 

Since  1908  Alfred  Harmsworth,  like  his 
famous  "  tabloid,"  has  disappeared  from 
view,  and  Lord  Northcliffe,  as  he  is  now 
known,  has  supplied  plenty  of  copy  for  the 
newspapers  on  his  frequent  visits  to  this 
country. 

In  1908  it  was  announced  in  Washington 
that  Lord  and  Lady  Northcliffe  and  Mrs. 
Harmsworth,  Lord  Northcliffe's  mother, 
had  been  entertained  at  the  White  House 
by  President  Roosevelt.  At  that  time  the 
British  and  the  American  advocates  of  the 
strenuous  life  formed  a  friendship  that  has 
since  continued.  Northcliffe  on  that  occa- 
sion not  only  had  an  opportunity  to  observe 
Colonel  Roosevelt's  energetic  methods  of  dis- 


AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES     305 

patching  public  business,  but  also  enjoyed 
the  privilege  of  hearing  him  address  a  visit- 
ing delegation  with  all  his  characteristic 
vigor  of  speech  and  manner. 

Subsequently,  in  commenting  on  the  ac- 
cessibility of  public  men  at  the  capital  and 
their  lack  of  reserve  in  giving  interviews  to 
reporters,  Northcliffe  remarked:  "There 
are  no  secrets  in  America.  Big  men  in  this 
country  don't  shut  themselves  up,  but  can 
be  seen  and  criticized.  It  is  doubtless  for 
this  reason  that  they  come  in  for  such  a 
large  share  of  discussion,  advice,  and  con- 
demnation from  the  press." 

The  visitor  found  much  to  attract  him  in 
Washington.  "  The  capital,"  he  said,  "  has 
impressed  me  as  a  city  of  rapidly  increasing 
beauty  and  one  well  worthy  of  the  world's 
greatest  republic.  It  is  of  a  size  and  dignity 
which  might  be  expected  for  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  United  States  government."  At 
the  same  time  he  declaimed  against  the  idea 
that  Philadelphia  is  a  slow  town.  '  The 
Baldwin  Locomotive  Works  there,"  he  re- 
marked, "  are  the  largest  in  the  world.  As 
for  newspapers,  one  of  the  Philadelphia 
evening  newspapers  is  not  surpassed  in  any 


306  NORTHCLIFFE 

part  of  the  world  for  appearance,  make-up, 
and  quickness  of  production." 

In  speaking  of  New  York,  at  that  time, 
Lord  Northcliffe  said  that  he  had  been  much 
impressed  by  the  improvement  of  the  city 
architecturally,  the  business  districts  having 
been  almost  rebuilt  since  his  first  visit  in 
1894.  There  had  also  been  a  notable  ad- 
vancement, socially,  artistically,  and  other- 
wise. :<  The  most  remarkable  thing  about 
New  York,"  he  added,  "  is  the  splendid 
spirit  of  optimism  by  which  it  is  animated." 
An  admirer  of  New  York,  Northcliffe,  in 
1908,  presented  a  memorial  window  to 
Plymouth  Church  in  Brooklyn.  It  is  in- 
cluded in  a  series  of  twelve  windows  which 
illustrate  the  influence  of  Puritanism  on  de- 
mocracy and  liberty  in  America. 

In  a  recent  interview  American  progress 
was  discussed  by  the  British  journalist,  his 
opinion  being  that  the  advancement  of  the 
next  hundred  years  would  far  surpass  the 
achievements  of  the  last  century.  The  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  this  interview  are  of 
peculiar  interest  as  conveying  the  result  of 
a  thoughtful  observer's  ideas  and  impres- 
sions : 


AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES     307 

"  Mechanically  the  United  States  is  so  far 
ahead  of  the  rest  of  the  world  that  I  doubt 
whether  Europe  will  ever  be  able  to  catch 
up.  Even  in  the  matter  of  surface  trans- 
portation you  lead  all  other  nations.  The 
inventive  genius  of  this  country  is  the  ad- 
miration of  the  entire  world.  Without 
American  inventors  we  might  never  have 
had  the  telegraph,  telephone,  sewing  ma- 
chine, modern  printing  press,  typewriter, 
phonograph,  and  innumerable  other  devices 
that  now  play  such  an  important  part  in 
everyday  life. 

"  In  newspapers,  in  which,  of  course,  I 
am  chiefly  interested,  we  surely  lead  you  in 
style  and  accuracy.  On  the  other  hand,  you 
beat  us  with  your  quick  production  and  gen- 
eral mechanical  proficiency.  Rotary  presses, 
typesetting  machines,  and  the  stereotyping 
processes — things  quite  essential  to  news- 
papers the  world  over — are  entirely,  or  al- 
most entirely,  American  inventions. 

"  The  American  public  school  system 
serves  as  a  model  for  the  world.  As  an  edu- 
cative force  it  has  been  wonderful.  No  other 
nation  could  possibly  have  assimilated,  in  a 
single  generation,  the  sort  of  people  that 


308  NORTHCLIFFE 

have  been  dumped  on  your  shores  from 
Europe.  The  public  school  has  done  much 
in  transforming  their  children  into  useful 
American  citizens." 

A  staunch  friend  of  the  Wright  brothers, 
the  pioneers  in  aviation,  Northcliffe  believes 
that  the  United  States  may,  some  day,  out- 
strip all  other  countries  in  the  manufacture 
of  aircraft.  "  I  am  glad,"  he  said,  "  that 
Dayton,  Ohio,  the  home  of  the  Wrights,  has 
become  an  important  aircraft  center.  It  is 
possible  that  Dayton  may  eventually  be- 
come the  aircraft  capital  of  the  world,  which 
it  is  fitting  that  the  home  of  the  Wright 
brothers  should  be." 

While  Northcliffe  has  been  unstinted  in 
his  praise  of  everything  in  this  country  that 
is  worthy  of  commendation,  he  has  not  over- 
looked some  of  our  national  weaknesses.  A 
few  years  ago,  for  example,  he  declared  in 
an  interview  published  in  the  New  York 
Times,  that  the  people  of  the  United  States 
had  a  genius  for  being  commonplace.  Here 
is  what  he  said  in  part: 

"  The  early  settlers  in  America  were  peo- 
ple of  marked  individualities,  who  thought 


AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES     309 

for  themselves.  They  read  and  wrote  orig- 
inal things,  and  were  not  afraid  of  the  opin- 
ion of  the  majority.  Many  of  them  had 
left  Europe,  in  fact,  as  a  protest  against 
the  power  of  the  majority.  They  were  orig- 
inal thinkers  and  they  produced  an  original 
mind  in  the  American. 

"  In  recent  years  the  vast  influx  of  immi- 
grants of  a  lower  type,  all  aping  American 
ways,  has  produced  a  sameness  throughout 
the  country.  It  is  impossible  for  a  stranger 
traveling  through  the  United  States  to  tell 
from  the  appearance  of  the  people  or  the 
country  whether  he  is  in  Toledo,  Ohio,  or 
Portland,  Oregon.  Ninety  million  Amer- 
icans cut  their  hair  in  the  same  way,  eat 
each  morning  exactly  the  same  breakfast, 
tie  up  the  small  girl's  curls  with  precisely 
the  same  kind  of  ribbon  fashioned  into  bows 
exactly  alike;  and  in  every  way  all  try  to 
look  and  act  as  much  like  all  the  others  as 
they  can — just  as  the  Chinese  do.  In  other 
words,  Americans,  in  many  ways,  are  white 
Chinese. 

"  The  whole  tendency,  in  these  days,  is  to 
destroy  individuality.  Anything  like  indi- 
viduality in  dress,  thought,  or  action  on  the 


310  NORTHCLIFFE 

part  of  any  of  your  people  is  decried  as  un- 
American. 

"  I  believe  in  individuality.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve in  standardizing  human  beings.  I  be- 
lieve that  one  of  the  reasons  why  so  small 
a  country  as  Great  Britain  maintains  so 
vast  a  place  in  the  world  is  that  we  produce 
individualities.  Scotland  has  never  had  a 
population  of  more  than  five  millions,  and 
yet  the  highly  individualized  Scotchmen  are 
found  at  the  top  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 
In  developing  resources  and  building  cities 
wonderful  attainments  have  been  made  in 
the  United  States,  but  most  of  these  things 
have  been  done  by  the  old  American  stock 
which  made  America  what  it  is  to-day." 

The  general  impression  among  American 
newspapers  was  that  Northcliffe  did  not 
intend  to  be  taken  seriously.  Most  editors, 
in  fact,  hailed  the  interview  with  delight 
and  fairly  chuckled  over  it.  As  an  editorial 
writer  has  since  remarked :  "  No  one  re- 
sented the  interview.  American  readers, 
after  digesting  it,  exclaimed :  *  He's  done 
it  very  well.  Three  cheers  for  him ! '  That, 
of  course,  is  the  American  attitude.  Abuse 
us,  if  you  like,  but  don't  do  it  stupidly.  Re- 


AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES     311 

cently   the    Germans    have    been    doing    it 
stupidly." 

While,  to  a  certain  extent,  this  may  he 
true,  yet  it  is  scarcely  a  correct  interpreta- 
tion of  Northcliffe's  views.  What  he  un- 
doubtedly meant  was  that  in  this  country 
there  is  a  tendency  toward  standardization 
among  people.  For  example,  somebody  de- 
clares that  young  men  in  order  to  succeed 
must  be  "  clean  cut  and  aggressive."  Forth- 
with this  phrase  is  circulated  far  and  wide 
until  it  becomes  fairly  bromidic.  Then  the 
newspaper  and  magazine  artists  get  to  work 
and  portray  their  ideals  of  "  clean  cut  and 
aggressive  young  men,"  who  are  represented 
with  hair  brushed  back,  looking  keen  eyed 
and  resolute,  ready  for  any  emergency.  The 
same  young  men  are  even  depicted  in  the 
ready-made  clothing  advertisements.  Tens 
of  thousands  of  young  men,  all  over  the 
country,  make  desperate  efforts  to  model 
themselves  after  this  pattern,  thinking  much 
the  same  thoughts,  inspired  by  the  same 
ambitions,  following  the  same  beaten  paths. 
That  is  why  Northcliffe  tells  us  to  stand- 
ardize our  engines,  but  warns  us  not  to 
standardize  our  men.  The  world  does  not 


312  NORTHCLIFFE 

want  standardized  human  beings.  It  wants 
originality. 

On  one  of  her  visits  to  New  York,  Lady 
Northcliffe  discussed  with  an  interviewer 
that  always  interesting  subject,  the  Amer- 
ican woman.  She  had  been  much  impressed 
by  the  types  of  femininity  that  she  had  seen 
in  this  country.  "  American  women,"  she 
said,  "  are  assuredly  the  most  beautiful  that 
I  have  ever  seen.  They  have  a  grace  and 
distinction  all  their  own,  and  as  for  the  at- 
tractive young  girls,  I  have  never  seen  any- 
thing like  them.  In  no  other  country  does 
one  see  so  many  well-dressed  women  as  in 
the  United  States,  and  this  applies  not  to 
any  particular  class,  but  to  all  classes.  An 
observant  visitor,  moreover,  cannot  fail  to 
be  impressed  by  the  intellectuality  and 
sound  common  sense  as  well  as  the  bright- 
ness, vivacity,  independence,  self-reliance, 
initiative,  and  other  good  qualities  which 
distinguish  American  women  of  the  best 
type."  As  already  mentioned,  Lady  North- 
cliffe  is  an  "  anti,"  and  does  not  believe  that 
the  extension  of  the  franchise  to  women  is 
necessary  for  the  world's  progress. 

Lord  Northcliffe,  who  indorses  all  that 


AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES     313 

Lady  Northcliffe  has  said  of  American 
womanhood,  and  who  shares  much  the  same 
opinion  in  'regard  to  votes  for  women, 
nevertheless  admires  the  way  in  which 
American  women  have  set  to  work  to  get 
what  they  want  in  the  matter  of  political 
rights.  He  considers  it  a  great  pity  that 
in  England  the  suffrage  movement  has  been 
characterized  by  violence  rather  than  by 
grace  and  attractiveness.  As  to  suffrage  in 
England,  he  believes  it  is  a  dead  issue  as  far 
as  militancy  is  concerned.  '  The  militants 
who  made  the  most  noise,"  he  says,  "  were 
the  leaders  of  an  immense  number  of  su- 
perfluous women  who  could  not  get  hus- 
bands and  had  to  do  something." 

In  an  interview  expressing  his  belief  in 
the  supremacy  of  man,  Northcliffe  re- 
marked: "  There  are  1,700,000  more  women 
of  voting  age  than  men  in  England,  Scot- 
land, and  Ireland.  If  they  were  given  the 
same  franchise  rights  as  the  men,  they 
would  dominate  the  British  Empire.  No 
self-respecting  man  is  going  to  be  dominated 
by  women.  The  men  of  England  will  not 
tolerate  rule  by  women.  Personally  I  am 
not  against  giving  women  the  vote  on  a 


314  NORTHCLIFFE 

property  basis,  but  the  suffragists  will  not 
be  satisfied  with  that." 

As  already  noted,  Lord  Nbrthcliffe  has 
seen  a  great  deal  of  this  country  and  has 
visited  many  of  our  winter  and  summer 
resorts.  In  the  autumn  of  1917,  while 
heading  the  British  War  Commission,  he 
gathered  some  impressions  of  Atlantic  City 
when  he  attended  the  Chambers  of  Com- 
merce Convention  which  was  held  there. 

In  a  chat  with  a  reporter  after  the  meet- 
ing, Northcliffe  said  that  he  had  been  very 
favorably  impressed  by  this  popular  resort, 
which  he  compared  to  Brighton,  one  of 
England's  liveliest  seaside  places.  As  he 
strolled  along  the  Board  Walk,  a  number 
of  objects  attracted  his  attention.  He 
gloated  over  the  big  electric  advertising 
signs  on  the  piers,  and  asked  if  a  certain 
advertising  scheme  on  the  beach  front  had 
not  derived  its  effectiveness  from  its  clever 
unobtrusiveness.  He  commented  on  the 
similarity  between  Atlantic  City  and  that 
famous  corner  table  in  the  Cafe  de  Paris 
in  the  French  capital,  where,  if  you  sit  long 
enough,  sooner  or  later  you  will  see  the 
whole  world  pass  by.  "  Everybody,"  he 


AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES     315 

observed,  "  seems  to  go  to  Atlantic  City." 
Then  he  wanted  to  know  why  there  was  not 
an  adequate  convention  hall  in  Atlantic 
City,  with  proper  acoustics.  Speakers  at 
the  Chambers  of  Commerce  Convention,  he 
remarked,  had  not  teen  heard  to  good 
effect. 

As  he  walked  on,  making  these  observa- 
tions, Northcliffe  met  an  editor  from  Phila- 
delphia with  whom  he  was  acquainted.  The 
editor  was  accompanied  by  two  of  his  re- 
porters. '*  This  is  surprising,"  exclaimed 
Northcliffe.  "  Is  the  whole  staff  down 
here?"  Then  he  added:  "I  suppose  they 
have  sent  you  to  Atlantic  City  to  escape 
from  the  gunmen." 

The  dramatic  quality  of  Philadelphia's 
Fifth  Ward  political  reign  of  terror  had 
apparently  interested  this  observant  jour- 
nalist. "A  wonderful  story!"  he  declared 
in  admiration.  "  Blackjacking  and  murder 
going  on  just  around  the  corner  from  Inde- 
pendence Hall.  Good  copy  for  the  news- 
papers, eh? " 

Northcliffe's  judgment  regarding  Amer- 
ican news  values  was  light ninglike.  Appar- 
ently he  would  be  well  qualified  to  edit  an 


316  NORTHCLIFFE 

American  newspaper,  but  when  somebody 
told  him  so  and  suggested  that  he  might 
enter  the  newspaper  field  in  this  country, 
he  replied  that  such  an  idea  was  absurd. 
"  I  have  been  asked  frequently,"  he  added, 
"  whether  I  intend  to  embark  in  the  news- 
paper business  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 
My  answer  has  been  invariably  that  no  man 
living  can  manage  a  paper  by  cable.  For 
a  foreigner  to  compete  from  a  distance 
with  your  live  and  vigorous  press  would  be 
an  act  of  brief  and  expensive  foolishness." 
In  the  course  of  this  conversation  North- 
cliffe  showed  that  he  had  been  a  close  ob- 
server of  American  methods  of  newspaper 
distribution.  He  asked  why  a  certain  New 
York  daily  paper  was  not  delivered 
promptly  in  Washington,  which  he  charac- 
terized as  now  being,  in  every  sense,  the 
capital  of  the  nation.  That  he  still  adheres 
to  his  tabloid  idea  of  journalism  was  shown 
when  he  asked  why  the  newspapers  could 
not  be  made  a  quarter  of  their  present  size 
in  order  to  cut  down  the  amount  of  white 
paper  they  needed.  He  scoffed  at  the  idea 
of  charging  three  cents  for  a  newspaper 
instead  of  cutting  down  its  size. 


AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES     317 

It  was  at  Atlantic  City  that  the  alert 
journalist  inspected  a  mammoth  typewriter 
placed  on  exhibition  for  advertising  pur- 
poses. The  machine  was  ten  feet  high, 
with  a  keyboard  like  a  cellar  door  and  keys 
the  size  of  saucers.  He  examined  it  closely, 
peering  into  its  inwards  from  every  angle. 
Then  he  said:  "I  see,  I  see!  It  works 
like  a  printing  press."  Then  he  departed, 
smiling  with  delight  at  this  Yankee  trick 
of  advertising. 

The  spirit  of  fraternity  toward  American 
newspapermen  which  Lord  Northcliffe  dis- 
played at  Atlantic  City  was  typical  of  his 
attitude  at  all  times.  In  May,  1917,  his 
friendship  for  the  American  press  was 
shown  in  a  thoroughly  practical  manner 
when  he  came  to  the  rescue  of  newspaper 
publishers  who  were  suffering  from  the 
paper  famine. 

Owing  to  the  scarcity  of  news-print  paper 
some  minor  newspapers  were  almost  on  the 
point  of  suspension.  As  a  means  of  relief, 
Lord  Northcliffe  offered  the  entire  output 
of  his  Newfoundland  paper  mills  to  the 
American  Publishers'  Association.  At  that 
time  the  Newfoundland  mills  were  pro- 


318  NORTHCLIFFE 

ducing  two  hundred  tons  of  paper  a  day, 
and  there  were  thousands  of  tons  of  ground 
wood  and  sulphite  for  sale  to  American 
paper  mills  at  prices  considerably  lower 
than  the  American  quotations. 

Lord  Northcliffe's  offer  having  been  ac- 
cepted, the  American  Publishers'  Associa- 
tion formed  a  company  to  receive  and  dis- 
tribute the  paper  which  he  arranged  to 
supply.  In  spite  of  the  difficulty  of  freight 
transportation,  this  new  corporation — the 
Publishers'  Paper  Company — proved  that 
Newfoundland  paper  could  be  sold  at  lower 
prices  than  paper  produced  in  the  United 
States,  although  manufacturing  costs  are 
higher  in  Newfoundland.  Many  American 
publishers  were  thus  enabled  to  get  a  supply 
of  cheap  paper,  a  fact  which  had  some  in- 
fluence in  causing  a  general  reduction  of 
paper  prices. 

An  admirer  of  efficiency,  Northcliff e  has 
inspected  some  of  our  largest  manufacturing 
establishments,  such  as  the  Edison  Works 
at  West  Orange,  New  Jersey,  the  Baldwin 
Locomotive  Works  in  Philadelphia,  the 
Remington  Arms  factory  in  Bridgeport, 
Connecticut,  the  Bethlehem  Steel  Works, 


AMERICAN  EXPERIENCES     319 

and  the  automobile  plant  of  Henry  Ford  in 
Detroit.  He  was  so  much  impressed  by 
what  he  saw  at  the  Ford  factory  that  he 
wrote  a  special  article  on  this  subject  for 
the  London  Times.  Among  the  things  that 
particularly  interested  him  was  the  factory 
school  in  which  Engh'sh  is  taught  to  those 
unfamiliar  with  the  language,  fully  a  hun- 
dred dialects  being  spoken  by  the  workmen. 

On  leaving  the  factory,  he  remarked  that 
he  had  been  greatly  impressed  by  the  good 
physique  and  healthy  appearance  of  most 
of  the  workers.  "  I  hope,"  replied  Mr. 
Ford,  "  that  you  also  noticed  that  there  is 
no  hustling.  I  don't  allow  it."  On  this 
point  Northcliffe  was  in  perfect  accord  with 
the  automobile  manufacturer,  as  one  of  his 
favorite  maxims  is  that  work  done  in  haste 
is  seldom  done  well. 

In  discussing  the  Ford  plant  and  the 
system  of  high  wages  that  prevails  there, 
Northcliffe  said:  ;' The  high- wage  idea  is 
very  good  in  its  way,  but  I  recently  met  a 
business  man  named  Filene,  who  has  a 
large  store  in  Boston,  and  he  has  adopted 
a  better  system.  He  pays  his  employees 
a  certain  percentage  of  his  profits,  and 


320  NORTHCLIFFE 

every  worker,  being  a  sharer  in  the  business, 
is  thus  inspired  to  do  his  best.  That  plan 
will  eventually  be  adopted  in  all  large  busi- 
nesses." 

The  profit-sharing  plan,  it  will  be  recalled, 
was  introduced  into  the  Harmsworth  peri- 
odical business  in  the  early  days,  and  has 
done  much  toward  building  up  the  great 
organization  now  headed  by  Lord  North- 
cliffe. 

Having  visited  this  country  during  a 
period  of  twenty-four  years,  the  keen-eyed 
British  newspaper  owner  has  constantly 
found  much  to  interest  him,  and  he  has  un- 
doubtedly derived  much  benefit  from  a  cos- 
mopolitan exchange  of  views.  Always  on 
the  lookout  for  new  ideas,  he  has  been  able 
to  adopt  some  that  he  has  noted,  for  the 
benefit  of  his  great  enterprises.  In  this  re- 
spect he  has  not  only  shown  good  judgment 
but  has  also  displayed  traits  that  are  usually 
supposed  to  be  distinctively  American.  In 
other  words,  Lord  Northcliffe  possesses,  to 
a  marked  degree,  that  restless,  tireless,  am- 
bitious nature  which  makes  up  what  is  uni- 
versally regarded  as  the  American  spirit. 


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XI 

AT  THE  FRONT 

As  a  virile  writer  and  well-trained  ob- 
server, Lord  Northcliff e  has  found  scope  for 
his  talents  on  the  battlefields  of  Europe. 
In  the  course  of  several  visits  to  the  front 
he  has  had  opportunities  to  see  the  vast 
armies  of  Great  Britain  and  France  in  ac- 
tive service,  and  he  has  also  studied  the 
wonderful  organization  which  has  made 
their  operations  effective.  He  has  noted 
what  sort  of  men  compose  these  armies,  and 
incidentally  he  has  interviewed  the  generals 
in  command. 

Having  gained  a  clear  idea  of  the  prin- 
cipal features  of  the  world's  greatest  war, 
Lord  Northcliffe  embodied  his  impressions 
in  a  highly  interesting  book,  entitled  "At 
the  War,"  *  which  appeared  about  a  year 
ago.  Every  page  of  this  work  fairly  bristles 
with  facts,  incidents,  and  picturesque  details, 

*  See  note  page  355. 
321 


322  NORTHCLIFFE 

while  at  the  same  time  the  author  has  dis- 
closed phases  of  his  own  complex  nature  by 
remarks  that  attract  and  impress  the  reader. 
Lord  Northcliffe,  in  short,  has  presented, 
comprehensively  and  concisely,  just  the  sort 
of  information  that  people  wish  to  get  in 
regard  to  modern  warfare. 

By  some  of  his  opponents  Lord  North- 
cliffe  has  been  called  ruthless,  and  in  the 
hard,  crushing  blows  that  he  has  directed 
at  certain  things  which  displeased  him  he 
has  justified  that  description.  On  the  other 
hand,  his  praise  of  bravery  and  efficiency  is 
just  as  frankly  enthusiastic.  He  has  also 
shown  a  spirit  of  deep  sentiment  in  his 
touches  of  the  pathetic,  such  as  his  account 
of  the  landing  of  young  British  soldiers  in 
France  and  their  departure  for  the  front. 
What  he  witnessed  took  place  at  a  port  where 
transports  constantly  arrived  and  departed. 

At  three  o'clock  one  morning,  so  he  re- 
lates, he  was  awakened  by  an  English  bugle 
call.  Opening  his  window  and  looking  out, 
he  saw  in  the  glare  of  the  tall  arc-lights  a 
regiment  of  English  soldiers  which  had  just 
debarked.  He  heard  the  roll  call.  A  few 
minutes  later  the  transport  on  which  they 


AT  THE  FRONT  323 

had  arrived  steamed  away,  and  the  young 
Britons,  all  new  recruits,  boarded  trains  to 
be  conveyed  to  the  front.  When  the  arc- 
lights  were  extinguished  and  the  soldiers 
had  gone,  the  whole  thing  seemed  like  a 
dream,  queer  and  mysterious. 

The  next  occasion  on  which  he  observed 
some  fresh  arrivals  was  in  the  daytime,  when 
another  contingent  landed.  The  departure 
from  England  of  those  bright,  fresh  English 
lads — their  faces  looking  so  red  beside  their 
darker  French  allies — had  been  so  recent 
that  many  of  them  still  wore  the  flowers 
their  sweethearts  had  given  them  on  part- 
ing. They  looked  about  earnestly  and  curi- 
ously, their  officers  obviously  a  little  nervous 
as  they  marshaled  them  for  the  roll  call. 
There  was  apparent  an  air  of  anxiety  as  to 
what  the  busy  townspeople,  hurrying  to 
their  mid-day  meal,  would  think  of  them. 

But  the  French  peasants,  long  accus- 
tomed to  these  scenes,  took  very  little  no- 
tice of  the  newcomers.  A  few  women 
venders  went  among  the  soldiers,  however, 
selling  them  oranges  and  cigarettes,  and 
encouraging  them  with  good-natured  chaff. 
Then  these  men  were  stowed  away  on  trains 


324  NORTHCLIFFE 

and  taken  off  to  points  all  over  northern 
France,  so  that  eventually  he  found  them 
in  the  most  unexpected  places,  building 
great  bridges,  running  trains  and  steam- 
boats, digging  trenches,  making  roads  near 
railways,  and  erecting  huts.  Wherever  they 
were  they  always  looked  neat  and  spruce. 

Northcliffe  confesses  that  he  took  great 
pride  in  the  fact  that  the  faces  of  the  Brit- 
ish soldiers  differed  from  those  of  the  Ger- 
mans. They  were  full  of  individuality.  He 
was  also  proud  of  an  outstanding  charac- 
teristic of  the  "  Tommy,"  his  insistence  upon 
smartness,  and  in  wearing  his  clothes  in  a 
manner  that  clearly  distinguished  him  in  a 
war  that  caused  English,  French,  and  Bel- 
gians to  work  together. 

It  was  at  Verdun  that  the  observant 
author  gained  one  of  his  first  glimpses  of 
the  war.  He  went  there  from  Paris,  mak- 
ing the  journey  of  150  miles  in  an  auto- 
mobile, as  the  railways  were  blocked  with 
cannon,  ammunition,  food  supplies,  and 
troops.  Long  before  he  reached  the  French 
lines  he  found  signs  of  war.  Even  thirty 
miles  away  the  villages  were  filled  with 
soldiers,  resting  or  waiting  to  be  called  into 


AT  THE  FRONT  325 

action.  There  were  great  fields  full  of  ar- 
tillery— "  parks,"  as  they  are  called — and 
vast  plains  covered  with  wagons. 

The  first  impression  of  the  war,  at  close 
range,  says  Northcliffe,  is  the  immensity 
and  complication  of  it.  The  war  zone  is  a 
world  apart.  Immersed  in  it,  one  becomes 
so  absorbed  in  its  activities  that  the  outer 
world  is  forgotten.  These  activities  con- 
tinue night  and  day. 

The  idea  of  generals  galloping  into  battle 
at  the  head  of  their  armies,  of  Napoleon 
and  Wellington  glaring  at  each  other 
through  telescopes,  as  they  are  said  to  have 
done  at  Waterloo,  is  destroyed  in  modern 
warfare.  As  Northcliffe  points  out,  army 
operations  are  not  directed  from  the  battle- 
field as  of  old.  Far  away  from  the  firing 
line — from  five  to  twenty-five  miles — are 
the  headquarters  of  the  various  armies.  The 
German  and  French  generals  at  the  battles 
of  Verdun  were  at  least  twenty  miles 
apart. 

The  headquarters  of  a  modern  general 
might,  with  a  slight  stretch  of  imagination, 
be  compared  to  the  offices  of  a  great  railroad 
contractor,  with  its  clerks,  typists,  and  in- 


326  NORTHCLIFFE 

numerable  telephones.  Everything  is  con- 
ducted in  a  matter-of-fact,  business  way. 
Indeed,  the  author  heard  much  less  talk  of 
a  particular  battle  at  the  front  than  he 
would  have  heard  at  home. 

Modern  warfare  is  a  horrible,  grim,  me- 
chanical business,  says  Northcliffe.  Very 
seldom  is  there  a  touch  of  the  color  or  ro- 
mance which  surrounds  it  in  the  popular 
imagination.  He  rarely  heard  a  band  play- 
ing in  the  war  zone,  and  the  only  sign  of 
picturesque  warfare  that  he  saw  at  Verdun 
was  a  squadron  of  lancers  that  he  passed 
one  day,  with  their  pennants  gaily  stream- 
ing, preceded  by  a  corps  of  buglers. 

Northcliffe  was  much  impressed  by  the 
splendid  organization  of  the  French  army, 
and  the  physique,  efficiency,  and  fighting 
spirit  of  the  French  soldier.  The  superb 
calm  of  the  French  people  and  the  equip- 
ment of  their  cheery  soldiery  convinced  him 
that  the  men  in  the  German  machine  could 
never  have  conquered,  even  if  France  had 
not  been  helped  by  Russia,  the  five  British 
nations,  and  Belgium,  Serbia,  Italy,  and 
Japan. 

When  Northcliffe  gathered  the  material 


AT  THE  FRONT  327 

for  his  book,  General  Joffre  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  French  army.  The  author 
visited  the  French  headquarters,  where  he 
found  that  the  pride  and  panoply  of  war 
had  gone,  if  indeed  they  had  ever  existed. 
Excepting  for  the  presence  of  two  orderlies 
at  the  gate,  the  official  residence  of  the 
commander-in-chief  had  the  appearance  of 
an  ordinary  hotel.  Pere  Joffre  received  the 
distinguished  British  visitor  at  the  ap- 
pointed hour,  in  a  small  room,  where  he 
was  seated  at  a  long,  narrow  table  with  a 
white-felt  top.  His  manner  and  conversa- 
tion were  unaffected  and  direct. 

The  famous  general's  routine,  at  that 
time,  was  simple  in  the  extreme.  He  con- 
ferred with  the  leaders  of  his  staff  at  6.30 
A.  M.,  when  all  reports  and  dispatches  of 
the  night  were  discussed  and  orders  given 
for  the  day.  Lunch  was  served  at  eleven. 
At  noon  there  was  another  conference,  and 
at  one  Joffre  went  out  driving  or  walking 
until  four.  At  8.30  p.  M.  there  was  a  third 
conference,  and  at  nine  o'clock  punctually — 
no  matter  what  happened — Joffre  went  to 
bed.  At  the  Battle  of  the  Marne,  which 
began  September  5,  the  orders,  written  by 


328  NORTHCLIFFE 

Joffre,  had  been  drawn  up  on  August  27. 
Most  of  the  French  officers  are  young  men, 
and  even  General  Petain  is  still  in  his 
fifties. 

NorthclifiVs  description  of  the  campaign 
at  Verdun  abounds  in  vivid  incidents.  The 
town,  he  says,  lies  in  a  great  basin,  with  the 
river  Meuse  winding  through  the  valley. 
Some  groups  of  fir  trees  on  the  hills  give 
the  country  a  certain  resemblance  to  Scot- 
land. 

As  one  approaches  the  firing  line  the 
volume  of  sound  becomes  louder  and  more 
terrific.  When  he  visited  the  front,  two 
young  officers  who  accompanied  him  ex- 
plained what  was  taking  place.  This  they 
did  by  means  of  signs,  for  the  noise  was 
sometimes  too  great  to  permit  conversation 
except  in  yells.  He  had  several  narrow 
escapes.  Everybody  at  the  front  has  had 
similar  experiences.  He  did  not  like  it, 
and  does  not  believe  that  any  one  else  does. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  not  true  that  every  bullet 
has  its  billet  and  that  every  shell  does  ma- 
terial damage.  In  April,  1916,  the  Ger- 
mans fired  15,000,000  shells  during  the  bat- 
tles of  Verdun.  Probably  not  one  in  a 


AT  THE  FRONT  329 

hundred  had  any  bearing  upon  the  military 
result. 

The  effect  of  these  terrific  bombardments 
is  peculiar.  In  some  villages  both  sides  of 
a  street  were  laid  in  ruins,  while  here  and 
there  a  cottage  remained  undamaged.  Deep 
holes  were  made  in  the  earth,  as  if  some 
convulsion  of  nature  had  taken  place.  Oc- 
casionally a  whole  area  had  been  bombarded 
out  of  recognition — buildings,  trees,  and 
trenches  so  smashed  and  destroyed  as  to 
resemble  the  effects  of  an  earthquake. 

The  district  of  Verdun  is  in  one  of  the 
coldest  parts  of  France,  and  one  subject  to 
frequent  and  sudden  changes  of  tempera- 
ture. On  one  occasion  the  opposing  French 
and  German  trenches  were  so  close  to  each 
other  as  to  be  within  talking  range.  The 
trench  parapets,  which  had  been  frozen  hard, 
suddenly  melted  and  subsided,  leaving  two 
lines  of  men  standing  face  to  face  without 
any  obstacle  between  them.  It  was  a  case 
of  wholesale  murder  on  one  side  or  the 
other,  or  a  temporary  unofficial  peace  until 
fresh  parapet  protections  could  be  made. 
The  French  and  German  officers,  grasping 
the  situation,  turned  their  backs,  as  if  un- 


330  NORTHCLIFFE 

willing  officially  to  countenance  such  an  un- 
warlike  proceeding,  while  the  men  on  each 
side  rebuilt  their  parapets  without  firing 
a  shot. 

After  seeing  Verdun  Northcliffe  visited 
Reims,  where  he  found  the  inhabitants  wear- 
ing gas-masks  as  part  of  their  ordinary  ap- 
parel. Excepting  that  the  stores  were 
closed,  as  on  Sunday,  and  the  streets  de- 
serted, the  city  showed  at  first  sight  no  signs 
of  bombardment.  Later  on,  however,  in 
passing  through  the  Boulevard  de  la  Paix, — 
strangely  named, — he  noticed  whole  mansions 
in  ruins,  and  the  cathedral  square  was  devas- 
tated. Fragments  of  the  famous  colored 
glass,  the  author  remarks,  have  been  gath- 
ered and  set  in  rings.  It  is  difficult  to  dis- 
tinguish the  blue  glass  from  sapphire. 

In  portraying  the  havoc  wrought  by  Ger- 
man shells,  Northcliffe  adds  a  dramatic 
touch.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when 
he  entered  the  cathedral,  and  a  sunbeam, 
undiluted  by  the  broken  windows,  disclosed 
a  horrible  discoloration  on  the  stone  pave- 
ment. '  That,"  said  the  guide,  with  much 
feeling,  "  is  the  blood  of  the  wounded  Ger- 
man prisoners  who  sought  refuge  in  the 


AT  THE  FRONT  331 

cathedral  and  were  done  to  death  by  their 
own  incendiary  shells.  That  sign  we  shall 
keep  forever  as  a  warning  to  the  world  of 
Hun  ferocity." 

The  strangest  scene  in  Reims  was  in  the 
great  champagne  cellars,  where  the  majority 
of  the  native  population,  chiefly  feminine, 
was  at  work.  Deep  underground,  thousands 
of  women  were  busily  filling  and  turning  the 
acres  of  bottles  that  were  arranged  in  won- 
derful subterranean  highways,  the  Pommery 
cellars  alone  forming  whole  streets  of  wine. 

On  his  various  trips  to  the  front,  Lord 
Northcliffe  had  ample  opportunities  to  see 
the  British  army  in  action.  He  pays  a 
high  tribute  to  the  unswerving  efficiency  of 
the  "Tommies"  of  England,  the  High- 
landers of  Scotland,  and  the  fighting  Irish. 
He  has  also  words  of  unstinted  praise  for 
the  contingents  from  other  parts  of  the 
British  Empire,  notably  the  Canadians, 
Australians,  and  New  Zealanders. 

As  to  the  colonials,  he  was  quick  to 
answer  the  much  discussed  question  of  dis- 
cipline, and  to  point  out  that  when  it  comes 
to  fighting  their  discipline  is  as  rigid  as  the 
most  exacting  commander  could  desire.  In 


332  NORTHCLIFFE 

time  of  battle  the  men  obey  their  officers 
implicitly.  The  spirit  of  the  colonials  is  ex- 
cellent. When  General  Birdwood,  com- 
mander of  the  Australians,  praised  his  men 
for  their  bravery,  and  asked:  "Are  you 
ready  for  more  when  the  time  comes? "  the 
answer  came  back  in  a  great  shout,  "  Yes! " 

A  strong  believer  in  the  unity  of  the  Brit- 
ish Empire,  Northcliffe  rejoices  at  the 
meeting  of  Englishmen,  Scotchmen,  and 
Irishmen  on  French  soil.  Their  interchange 
of  views  will,  he  prophesies,  materially  alter 
British  politics  when  the  boys  get  home. 
The  advent  of  Canadians,  Australians,  and 
New  Zealanders,  with  their  attachment  to 
the  mother  country,  foreshadows,  he  believes, 
an  indissoluble  bond  of  empire  which  will 
have  a  vast  influence  on  the  world's  future. 

Lord  Northcliffe  seems  to  take  great 
pleasure  in  destroying  most  illusions  about 
war.  For  instance,  in  describing  the  British 
headquarters,  he  says  they  were  not  estab- 
lished in  a  palatial  chateau  but  in  a  modest 
dwelling,  while  outwardly  the  life  of  the 
commander-in-chief,  General  Sir  Douglas 
Haig,  might  have  been  that  of  a  Scottish 
laird  at  home  on  his  estate, 


AT  THE  FRONT  333 

He  quickly  sketches  the  hahits  and  ap- 
pearance of  the  famous  leader,  who  is 
known  to  the  British  public  only  by  name. 
Lithe,  alert,  of  distinguished  bearing,  and 
good  looking,  is  the  author's  description. 
"  He  does  not  waste  words,"  says  ISTorth- 
cliffe,  "  not  because  he  is  silent  or  unsym- 
pathetic— it  is  because  he  uses  them  as  he 
uses  soldiers,  sparingly  but  always  with 
method."  When  General  Haig  is  inter- 
ested in  his  subject,  as  in  expressing  his 
admiration  for  the  new  armies  and  their 
officers,  or  in  testifying  to  the  stubborn 
bravery  of  the  German  machine  gunners, 
it  is  not  difficult  to  discern  from  his  accent 
that  he  is  what  is  known  north  of  the  Tweed 
as  a  Fifer,  and  possessed  of  the  Fifer  pa- 
tience and  oblivion  to  all  external  surround- 
ings that  makes  him  so  difficult  to  beat  in 
golf,  in  business  affairs,  or  in  war. 

Neither  good  news  nor  news  not  so  good 
seems  to  affect  this  blue-eyed  commander  or 
to  interfere  with  his  day's  work.  There  are 
all  sorts  of  minor  criticisms  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  at  home,  mainly  because 
the  majority  of  people  know  nothing  about 
him.  Sir  Douglas  Haig  is  fifty-four  years 


334 NORTHCLIFFE 

of  age.  Many  of  his  staff  are  much 
younger.  A  grave,  serious  body  of  men, 
they  have  inspired  confidence  from  one  end 
of  the  line  to  the  other.  With  them,  in 
every  case,  "  Can  it  be  done? "  takes  prece- 
dence of  "  It  can't  be  done."  One  of  Gen- 
eral Haig's  favorite  maxims  is  that  war  is 
a  young  man's  game. 

Northcliffe  praises  the  brave  little  Bel- 
gian army,  which  gave  the  Allies  invaluable 
breathing  time  when  the  war  began,  and  has 
been  fighting  longer  than  any  of  them. 
Since  the  early  days  of  1914  the  army  has 
been  much  renewed,  and  considering  its  size 
it  is  a  perfect  force,  excellently  organized 
and  efficiently  directed.  That  the  Belgians 
are  well  equipped  with  big  howitzers,  75 's, 
and  machine  guns,  and  that  every  gun  has 
a  plentiful  supply  of  shells,  is  known  to 
Hans  and  Fritz  everywhere  along  the  Bel- 
gian front. 

Roughly  speaking,  the  British  have  raised 
an  army  of  about  four  millions.  Part  of 
these  troops  hold  the  western  front,  some 
are  in  reserve  along  the  line,  others  are  in 
Macedonia,  Egypt,  Saloniki,  or  Africa, 
while  a  certain  proportion  are  training  at 


AT  THE  FRONT  335 

home.  The  men  in  this  vast  army  must  have 
three  meals  a  day.  Their  clothes,  boots, 
underwear,  and  equipment  must  be  kept  in 
good  order  and  renewed  at  regular  intervals. 
Their  horses,  mules,  and  motor  vehicles  must 
have  the  wherewithal  to  live  or  be  used.  In 
short,  the  British  army  must  be  maintained 
as  a  going,  effective  concern.  Consequently, 
a  wonderful  system  of  organization,  man- 
aged by  experts  in  every  branch,  has  been 
built  up  until  there  is  neither  muddling  nor 
inefficiency. 

An  admirer  of  efficiency  and  economy, 
Northcliffe  was  much  impressed  by  the  im- 
provement in  army  organization  which  had 
taken  place  since  the  war  began.  His  ad- 
miration was  particularly  aroused  by  the 
telephone  system,  which  would  have  done 
credit  to  an  English  city  far  away  from 
the  war  zone.  At  points  where  men  were 
burying  the  blackened  corpses  of  Germans, 
and  where  the  sound  of  big  guns  made  it 
necessary  to  shout  in  order  to  be  heard,  he 
found  that  telephone  wires  had  been  in- 
stalled. War  without  the  telephone  would 
have  seemed  impossible.  Every  head  of  a 
department  in  the  British  lines  had  a  tele- 


336  NORTHCLIFFE 

phone  close  at  hand,  and  the  wires  were 
even  connected  with  the  trunk  system  of 
the  French  government.  Interpreters  were 
stationed  in  the  exchanges. 

With  almost  an  American  fondness  for 
speed,  the  author  was  delighted  to  learn 
that  a  staff  officer  at  the  front  was  able  to 
call  up  London,  Paris,  and  seaport  bases 
in  France  within  an  hour.  He  describes 
additional  means  of  communication,  such  as 
line  and  wireless  telegraphy,  and  bestows  a 
compliment  on  the  Signal  Corps,  on  whose 
achievements  so  much  depends. 

Of  particular  interest  to  American  readers 
is  Northcliffe's  description  of  the  army  be- 
hind the  army,  of  which  the  public  has  but 
little  knowledge.  Thousands  of  men  in  the 
rear  are  engaged  in  every  conceivable  kind 
of  occupation,  from  railway  construction  to 
preparing  food  or  salvaging  waste  products. 
Over  two  hundred  trains  a  day  and  35,000 
loaded  cars  every  week  are  required  to  sup- 
ply the  British  army  with  food,  ammunition, 
engineers'  stores,  broken  stone  and  other 
material  for  road  making,  and  trench  sup- 
ports of  wood  and  iron. 

One  of  the  largest  field  bakeries  turns 


AT  THE  FRONT  337 

out  222,000  loaves  a  day,  or  440,000  rations. 
At  one  base  on  the  northern  line  there  were 
40,000  tons  of  oats  and  32,000  tons  of  hay 
for  the  horses.  Thousands  of  trucks,  cars, 
and  motor  cycles — fifty  million  pounds  of 
equipment  on  rubber  tires — make  up  the 
mechanical  transportation  equipment  of  the 
British  army  in  France  alone.  Four  mil- 
lion gallons  of  gasoline  are  used  every 
month.  A  complicated  system  of  repair 
shops  is  in  operation. 

With  his  customary  news  sense,  North- 
cliffe  realized  at  once  that  what  every 
mother,  father,  sister,  and  sweetheart  wanted 
to  know  was,  how  the  boys  were  treated  at 
the  front.  He  has  graphically  shown  that 
the  British  army  is  well  fed,  and  as  a  vivid 
illustration  of  this  he  describes  huge  pyra- 
mids of  jams,  pickles,  bacon,  beef,  butter, 
and  cheese  that  he  has  seen. 

Having  been  one  of  the  first  advocates 
of  auto-mobilization,  Northcliffe  admits  that 
the  motor  dispatch  riders — "  the  noisy  nui- 
sances of  peace-time  roads,"  as  he  terms 
them — have  become  a  prime  factor  in  the 
prompt  waging  of  war. 

The  cry  which  has   become   familiar  to 


338  NORTHCLIFFE 

American  ears,  "  Speed  up !  "  was  raised  by 
Lord  Northcliffe  in  the  early  days  of  the 
war,  and  some  of  his  advice  to  his  own  peo- 
ple seems  applicable  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  Those  at  home,  he  declares,  can 
help  to  speed  up  the  machine  if  they  will 
only  put  their  strength  into  the  task.  He 
was  prompt  in  seeing  the  necessity  for 
standardization,  especially  in  motor  trucks 
and  other  branches  of  mechanical  transport. 

He  found  that  two  score  different  types 
of  motor  vehicles  were  in  use  at  the  British 
front.  Each  required  its  own  spare  parts 
in  order  that  repairs  might  be  speedily 
made.  He  lays  stress  on  the  fact  that  delay 
in  war  time  is  fatal.  The  Germans,  he  ex- 
plains, have  comparatively  few  types  of 
motor  vehicles,  and  for  that  reason  are  not 
obliged  to  keep  such  a  large  variety  of  spare 
parts.  The  British  equipment,  on  the  other 
hand,  requires  50,000  different  kinds. 

Northcliffe  devotes  much  space  to  de- 
scriptions of  aeroplanes,  and  particularly  to 
the  fighting  planes  which  are  fitted  with 
searchlights  and  carry  one  or  two  machine 
guns.  What  the  development  of  the  aero- 
plane means  to  England  is  a  subject  of 


AT  THE  FRONT  339 

supreme  importance  to  Britons,  especially 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  England  is  now  less 
than  twenty  minutes  by  air  from  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe.  He  adds :  "  Let  it  be 
realized  that  aeroplanes  are  very  cheap  to 
make  and  will  become  cheaper.  The  vast 
change  that  this  invention  has  produced  in 
the  position  of  England  does  not  even  now 
seem  to  be  understood  by  one  person  in  a 
hundred." 

In  emphasizing  the  fact  that  the  world's 
great  war  is  a  war  of  machinery  as  well  as 
bravery,  the  author  says  that  the  first  im- 
pression of  it  is  chaos,  confusion,  and  im- 
mensity. Then  follows  the  more  mature 
impression  that  everything  is  conducted  with 
the  clockwork  regularity  of  a  great  business. 
He  describes  the  supplies  at  a  base  which 
furnished  100,000  men-  with  horses,  bicycles, 
rifles,  guns  large  and  small,  munitions, 
observation  balloons,  aeroplanes,  medical 
stores,  portable  hospitals,  ambulances,  foods 
of  every  description,  cartridges,  forage,  and 
harness.  By  multiplying  100,000  ten  or 
twenty  times,  some  idea  of  the  immensity 
of  the  war  business  is  gained.  Its  colossal 
expense  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  every 


340  NORTHCLIFFE 

British  soldier  costs  the  nation  between 
twenty-five  and  thirty  dollars  a  week  to 
maintain. 

The  salvage  system  impressed  North- 
cliffe  as  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  war. 
To-day,  before  the  fume  and  reek  of  a 
battle  have  disappeared  or  the  dead  are 
buried,  the  Salvage  Corps  begins  work  on 
the  shell-churned  field,  collecting  unused 
cartridges,  machine-gun  belts,  unexploded 
bombs,  old  shell  cases,  damaged  rifles,  haver- 
sacks, steel  helmets,  and  even  old  rags. 
The  latter  are  sold  for  $250  a  ton. 

According  to  official  reports,  it  may  be 
added,  the  Department  of  Salvage  has 
saved  the  British  government  $12,000,000 
a  year  on  uniforms  alone.  Four  thousand 
women  are  engaged  in  the  work  of  renova- 
tion and  repairing.  Army  blankets,  boots, 
capes,  and  coats  of  rubber  and  leather  are 
also  gathered  for  reclamation.  One  million 
pairs  of  boots  were  salvaged  in  1916.  The 
salvage  system  extends  everywhere,  and 
nothing  is  immune.  Every  gasoline  can, 
for  instance,  is  used  and  reused.  Even 
hospital  dressings  are  sterilized  and  sold  as 
cotton  waste.  Wooden  boxes  and  nails  are 


AT  THE  FRONT  341 

put  to  use.  Grease  is  collected  at  the  camps 
and  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  glycer- 
ine and  soap.  Even  potato  peelings  are 
sold  to  French  farmers  as  hog  feed. 

Briefly,  yet  clearly,  Northcliffe  describes 
every  phase  of  the  training  that  new  British 
troops  undergo  behind  the  lines,  such  as 
trench  practice  in  actual  facsimile,  trench 
gas  attacks  in  which  the  deadly  gas  is  used, 
bombing  with  real  bombs,  crater  fighting, 
and  machine-gun  practice.  In  fact,  all  the 
elements  that  enter  into  real  warfare  are 
assiduously  demonstrated  at  the  rear  until 
the  men  are  perfectly  drilled. 

At  the  end  of  1917  Lord  Northcliffe  had 
an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  American 
forces  in  the  field,  and  although  his  account 
of  what  he  saw  forms  no  part  of  his  book, 
it  can  appropriately  be  added  to  his  other 
impressions. 

The  alert  British  journalist  traveled  to 
American  headquarters  with  Generals 
Pershing  and  Bliss,  Admiral  Benson,  Colo- 
nel House,  Ambassador  Sharp,  and  other 
officials.  The  party  left  Paris  at  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning  in  a  special  train, 
and  returned  at  ten  at  night.  This,  Lord 


342  NORTHCLIFFE 

Northcliffe  says,  will  give  some  idea  of  the 
distance. 

At  a  small  railway  station,  some  miles 
from  headquarters,  a  guard  of  honor  was 
waiting  to  receive  the  American  army  chiefs, 
and  the  party,  on  leaving  the  train,  passed 
through  half  a  mile  of  grim,  hardy  young 
Americans  in  trench  helmets,  standing  at 
attention.  They  appeared  to  be  in  fine 
health  and  spirits. 

"  Eastern  France,"  says  Northcliff  e,  "  was 
under  a  frost — not  the  dazzling,  keen  at- 
mosphere of  New  York,  but  a  sunny,  damp 
atmosphere  to  which  Americans  are  un- 
accustomed but  are  bearing  well.  The  air 
was  full  of  the  thudding  of  great  guns  in 
an  artillery  battle  which  a  young  West 
Point  officer  told  me  had  been  proceeding 
without  cessation  for  three  days  and  three 
nights  some  miles  away  to  the  east." 

In  American  automobiles  the  visitors  were 
taken  straight  across  the  country,  ignoring 
the  roads,  until  the  crest  of  a  low  ravine  was 
reached,  where  thousands  of  the  first  con- 
tingent of  the  American  expeditionary 
force  were  being  trained.  Here  an  exhibi- 
tion drill  was  witnessed.  American  aero- 


AT  THE  FRONT  343 

planes  were  circling  overhead,  and  violent 
clangs  of  bursting  hand  grenades  indicated 
that  the  bombing  schools  were  practicing. 
The  first  exhibition  was  rifle  practice  with 
landscape  targets.  It  was  good  shooting, 
the  high  average  of  75  per  cent  of  hits  being 
recorded. 

Then  followed  practice  with  a  trench 
mortar,  well  known  to  the  British  army. 
The  men  had  thoroughly  mastered  the  prin- 
ciples of  this.  Later  on  some  bomb  throw- 
ing took  place,  in  which  the  participants 
demonstrated  that  the  throw  is  not  the 
baseball  pitch,  but  a  complete  over-arm 
semicircle,  somewhat  resembling  over-arm 
cricket  bowling.  Then  came  an  exhibition 
of  trench  fighting,  bayonet  practice,  and  a 
fine  quarter  of  an  hour's  work  with  French 
75  guns  at  a  range  of  a  mile  and  a  half. 
The  target  was  a  little  wood,  and  after  the 
first  four  shots  the  gunners  got  the  range 
almost  every  time.  The  spotting  was  done 
by  an  aeroplane  which  hovered  overhead 
and  indicated  hits  by  wireless. 

Colonel  House,  who  is  a  Texan,  took  up 
a  rifle  and  did  some  good  shooting  himself. 
Excellent  wooden  models  of  enemy  snipers 


344  NORTHCLIFFE 

were  concealed  among  the  rocks  and  foliage 
at  a  distance  of  some  hundreds  of  yards. 
It  was  the  object  of  the  pupils  in  this  part 
of  the  war  game  to  draw  a  sudden  bead  on 
an  enemy  dummy  and  get  it.  Many  had 
become  adepts  in  sniping. 

The  party  returned  to  the  railway,  and 
after  a  short  journey  reached  General 
Pershing's  headquarters,  a  large  French 
barracks  that  had  lately  been  occupied  by 
a  distinguished  French  regiment.  The  build- 
ings had  been  refitted,  steam  heated,  and 
electric  wired,  and  were  in  telephonic  com- 
munication with  Paris  and  the  various  parts 
of  the  American  army.  Interesting  infor- 
mation was  given  at  headquarters  by  mem- 
bers of  General  Pershing's  staff,  which 
showed  that  American  adaptability  had  very 
quickly  assimilated  the  best  points  of  the 
British  and  French  training  arrived  at  after 
three  and  a  half  years  of  actual  warfare,  to 
which  had  been  added  certain  ideas  and  alter- 
ations necessary  for  an  army  whose  home 
base  was  three  thousand  miles  away. 

Lord  Northcliffe  was  much  impressed  by 
the  strong  personality  of  General  Pershing, 
who  has  been  described  by  an  American 


AT  THE  FRONT  345 

writer  as  "  erect,  square  jawed,  with  keen 
eyes,  and  a  mouth  firmly  indicated  beneath 
a  close-clipped  mustache,  having  all  the  con- 
centration of  a  master  chess  player."  The 
British  observer  also  gained  a  highly  favor- 
able impression  of  the  spirit  of  the  American 
officers  and  men,  and  the  state  of  their  prepa- 
ration. Every  branch  of  the  organization 
was  admirably  managed,  with  young  men, 
full  of  energy,  at  the  head  of  each  depart- 
ment. 

In  addition  to  describing  the  armies  in 
the  field,  Lord  Northcliffe  has  devoted  much 
space  to  the  auxiliary  organizations  that  are 
at  work,  such  as  the  Red  Cross  societies. 
All  the  profits  resulting  from  the  sale  of  his 
war  book,  it  may  be  added,  have  been  pre- 
sented to  the  British  Red  Cross  Society  and 
the  Order  of  St.  John. 

In  an  account  of  the  Red  Cross  hospitals, 
he  describes  how  the  world's  greatest  sur- 
geons, including  King  George's  doctor,  at- 
tend the  wounded  of  the  rank  and  file. 
There  is,  in  fact,  no  finer  tribute  in  the  book 
than  that  which  the  author  pays  to  the  war 
doctors.  ;'  We  are  so  accustomed,"  he  says, 
"  to  considering  doctors  as  part  of  our  daily 


346  NORTHCLIFFE 

life,  or  as  workers  in  speckless,  palatial  hos- 
pitals, that  we  have  hardly  visualized  the  man 
who  shares  the  hell  of  the  front  trench  with 
the  fighters,  armed  with  only  two  panniers 
of  urgent  drugs,  instruments,  and  field  dress- 
ings, his  acetylene  lamp  and  electric  torch. 
If  there  be  degrees  of  chivalry,  the  highest 
award  should  be  accorded  to  the  medical  pro- 
fession, which  at  once  forsook  its  lucrative 
practice  in  a  great  rally  of  self-sacrifice." 

Some  idea  of  the  dangers  which  army  doc- 
tors have  to  face  is  shown  in  the  figures  for 
the  three  months  of  June,  July,  and  August, 
1916,  when  53  officers  of  the  Royal  Medical 
Corps  were  killed  and  208  wounded,  while 
of  non-coms  and  privates  260  were  killed  and 
1212  wounded. 

The  elaborate  and  efficient  system  of  car- 
ing for  the  wounded  is  carefully  explained 
by  Lord  Northcliffe,  who  traces  the  prog- 
ress of  the  wounded  from  the  regimental 
head  base,  where  the  doctor  with  his  stretcher 
bearers  waits  alongside  of  the  men.  As  the 
stretcher  bearers  pass  in  with  their  loads, 
there  is  a  rapid  diagnosis,  an  antiseptic  ap- 
plication, a  hastily  written  label  tied  upon 
the  victim's  breast,  and  the  wounded  man  is 


AT  THE  FRONT  347 

borne  away  in  the  open  to  the  next  stage, 
the  advance  dressing  station,  which  is  some- 
times pushed  right  up  to  the  firing  line.  The 
stretcher  bearers  thereupon  begin  again  an- 
other dangerous  journey  rearwards. 

The  comforting  assurance  is  given  that  by 
far  the  greater  proportion  of  the  wounded 
are  slightly  hit  and  are  walking  cases — so 
lightly  hurt  in  large  numbers  of  instances 
that  where  the  stretcher  bearers  themselves 
have  fallen,  slightly  wounded  soldiers  have 
borne  them  out  of  danger. 

Northcliffe's  picture  of  an  advance  dress- 
ing station  at  West  Pe'ronne  is  vividly  in- 
teresting. "  We  reached  it,"  he  says,  "  on 
a  heavy,  sultry  afternoon,  by  hiding  our- 
selves behind  anything  possible.  Dust  and 
smoke  gave  the  atmosphere  of  a  coming 
thunder  storm;  the  thudding  of  the  guns  on 
both  sides  was  incessant.  Now  and  then  was 
heard  the  brisk  note  of  a  machine  gun, 
which  sounds  exactly  like  a  boy  rasping  a 
stick  along  palings. 

:<  There  was  no  sign  of  anything  in  the 
nature  of  a  hospital  or  anything  above 
ground.  I  was  getting  tired  of  being  told 
to  lie  down  flat  every  few  seconds  to  avoid 


348  NORTHCLIFFE 

bursting  shells,  when  I  saw  a  couple  of 
stretcher  bearers  coming  through  the  haze 
as  from  nowhere,  and  then  disappear  under- 
ground. '  It  is  underneath  there/  I  was 
told  by  my  guide,  whose  daily  duty  it  was 
to  inspect  medical  outposts." 

Getting  down  into  a  trench,  Northcliffe 
was  guided  through  an  underground  maze, 
part  of  a  former  German  trench  system, 
which  had  been  turned  into  a  hospital.  He 
never  saw  a  more  touching  sight,  he  says, 
than  this  underground  station,  where  seventy 
wounded  men  were  being  attended  to  by 
doctors  and  assistants,  and  waiting  to  be 
removed  as  soon  as  the  place  could  be  va- 
cated. One  of  these  collecting  stations  which 
he  had  visited  two  days  previously  had  been 
shelled  by  the  enemy.  By  a  strange  chance 
the  only  victims~were  a  number  of  German 
prisoners. 

To  prevent  mistakes,  each  wounded  man's 
label  is  checked  at  every  point  that  he 
reaches,  with  as  much  care  as  a  registered 
letter  receives  on  its  way  through  the  post. 
The  casualty  clearing  station,  with  its  nurses 
and  sunny  gardens  into  which  the  beds  are 
carried  so  that  the  wounded  men  can  enjoy 


AT  THE  FRONT  349 

the  birds,  flowers,  and  trees,  seemed  like  an 
oasis  after  the  grim  desolation  of  the  Somme 
heights.  Although  he  is  a  "  bear  "  for  work 
himself,  Northcliffe  was  astounded  at  the 
tireless  activity  of  doctors  and  nurses.  He 
frankly  admits  that  he  had  never  thought  it 
was  possible  for  human  beings  to  work  so 
many  hours,  although  the  war,  it  is  true, 
seems  to  double  the  energy  of  every  one  en- 
gaged in  it. 

One  of  the  most  important  hospitals  of  the 
British  Red  Cross  is  at  Rouen,  where  the 
Grand  Seminaire,  a  modern  building,  has 
been  reserved  for  wounded  officers.  Here 
there  are  accommodations  for  250  patients, 
who  receive  the  attention  of  a  large  medical 
staff.  In  addition  to  an  X-ray  department, 
there  is  a  pathological  laboratory  in  which 
important  work  is  carried  on  by  an  expert 
bacteriologist.  A  room  equipped  for  mas- 
sage and  general  electrical  treatment  has  also 
been  provided. 

An  interesting  branch  of  war  work  is  the 
Record  Department,  which  keeps  complete 
data  of  every  British  soldier  from  the  mo- 
ment of  his  arrival  in  France  until  his  de- 
parture or  death.  A  branch  office  enables 


350  NORTHCLIFFE 

relatives  to  ascertain  the  time  and  place  of 
burial  of  every  officer  or  private  who  is 
killed,  whether  he  comes  from  Great 
Britain  or  the  colonies.  This  information 
is  important  in  cases  where  wills  are 
probated. 

With  delicacy,  Lord  Northcliffe  describes 
how  the  effects  of  dead  soldiers  are  collected 
when  the  bodies  of  the  slain  are  reverently 
searched.  All  property  is  carefully  listed, 
and  the  list  accompanies  the  familiar  belong- 
ings to  one  of  the  great  bases  on  the  lines 
of  communication.  Here  the  bag  containing 
the  mementos  is  opened  by  two  clerks,  who 
check  the  list  once  more.  The  bag  is  then 
sealed  and  sent  home.  He  watched  the  open- 
ing of  one  of  these  pathetic  parcels  at  the 
time  of  its  final  checking.  It  contained  a 
few  trinkets,  some  pennies,  a  pipe  and  to- 
bacco pouch,  a  photograph  of  wife  and  baby, 
a  trench  ring  made  of  an  enemy  fuse,  and  a 
small  diary. 

Northcliife  has  much  praise  for  the 
Y.M.C.A.,  which  has  provided  huts  and  clubs 
in  which  war-worn  soldiers  can  find  rest  and 
recreation.  The  Church  Army,  the  Salva- 
tion Army,  and  other  organizations  have  also 


AT  THE  FRONT  351 

done  excellent  work  in  supplying  comforts 
for  the  men. 

He  pays  an  eloquent  tribute  to  the  women 
of  the  war,  whose  self -sacrifice  as  nurses  and 
volunteer  workers  leaves  him  at  a  loss  for 
appropriate  words  of  praise.  '  Women,"  he 
says,  "  have  taken  to  every  kind  of  war 
work  with  a  rapidity  and  adaptability  that 
have  certainly  not  been  shown  by  all  mem- 
bers of  the  ruling  sex.  It  has  been  openly 
admitted  that  in  many  ammunition  factories 
women  in  their  eagerness  to  defeat  the 
enemy  are  expending  more  energy  than  men 
working  in  the  same  shops." 

As  the  result  of  his  interviews  with  Brit- 
ish officers  and  men,  Northcliffe  confirmed 
the  impression  gained  by  other  investigators, 
that  the  German  is  a  good  soldier  when  ad- 
vancing with  numbers  under  strict  disci- 
pline, and  is  undoubtedly  brave,  but  when 
left  to  himself  he  lacks  the  initiative  which 
distinguishes  the  British  and  American  sol- 
dier. He  has  harsh  words  for  the  Germans, 
especially  the  Prussians  and  Bavarians,  who, 
he  says,  are  extremely  cruel.  The  German 
non-coms  when  taken  prisoners  treat  their 
men  with  a  bullying  savagery  that  is  aston- 


352  NORTHCLIFFE 

ishing,  while  German  officer  prisoners  pay 
absolutely  no  attention  to  their  men,  even 
those  who  are  wounded. 

He  was  told  that  the  Germans  treat  their 
slightly  wounded  with  great  care  because 
they  wish  to  get  them  back  into  the  firing 
line  quickly.  The  badly  wounded  are  neg- 
lected. Indeed,  he  observes,  the  wounded 
man  is  not  the  hero  in  war  that  he  is  sup- 
posed to  be.  The  object  of  both  sides  is  to 
win,  and  while  every  care  is  taken  of  the 
wounded,  priority  is  given  to  the  forwarding 
of  fighting  men. 

Like  many  other  observers,  Northcliffe 
was  impressed  by  the  wretched  appearance 
of  the  German  prisoners,  many  of  whom 
were  undersized,  ill  fed,  and  untrained.  He 
refers  to  the  difference  between  the  treat- 
ment accorded  to  German  prisoners  in 
France  and  in  England.  The  authorities  in 
England  seem  disposed  to  hide  the  prisoners, 
while  in  France  they  work  in  public  and  are 
contented  with  their  lot.  Excepting  for  the 
letters  "  P.  G."  (Prisonnier  de  Guerre)  on 
the  tags  on  their  coats,  he  found  it  difficult 
to  realize  that  middle-aged  Hans  with  his 
pipe  and  young  Fritz  with  his  cigarette  were 


AT  THE  FRONT  353 

prisoners  at  all.  This  caused  him  to  declare 
emphatically  that  the  sooner  the  German 
prisoners  in  England  were  put  to  work  to 
assist  in  shortening  the  war,  the  better  it 
would  be. 

On  one  of  his  trips  to  the  Continent, 
JsTorthcliffe  visited  the  Italian  front.  That 
was  in  the  early  days,  when  the  Italian  army 
had  pushed  forward  into  Austrian  territory. 
He  has  described  the  gallantry  of  that  ad- 
vance over  the  Dolomite  Alps  in  the  face  of 
almost  insurmountable  difficulties. 

The  brutalities  of  the  Austrians,  he  dis- 
covered, were  similar  to  those  practiced  by 
the  Germans.  The  Italian  slain  were  con- 
stantly found  mutilated.  He  was  shown 
some  terrible  spiked  maces  habitually  used 
by  the  Austrians  to  break  the  skulls  of  the 
wounded.  Equally  barbarous  were  thongs 
with  leaden  balls  attached  to  them,  which 
the  Austrian  non-coms  used  in  driving  lag- 
gards into  the  fighting  h'ne. 

General  Cadorna,  who  was  then  the  Ital- 
ian commander-in-chief,  has  been  described 
by  Northcliffe  as  a  quick-moving  man  of 
sixty-six,  and  the  most  humorous  of  the  gen- 
erals in  the  war.  He  had  a  glitter  in  his 


354  NORTHCLIFFE 

grey  eyes  that  reminded  one  of  Pierpont 
Morgan.  The  resemblance  also  applied  to 
the  character  of  the  two  men,  for  Morgan, 
like  Cadorna,  was  kindly  disposed,  although 
merciless  and  adamant  when  necessary. 

ISTorthcliffe  was  surprised  to  find  that  in 
the  talks  between  Italian  soldiers  and  Aus- 
trian prisoners  English  was  the  only  lan- 
guage in  which  they  could  converse.  Inves- 
tigation disclosed  that  thousands  of  Italians 
and  Austrians  had  worked  in  the  United 
States.  The  English  they  used  was  not  the 
English  of  England,  he  observes,  but  in 
many  cases  it  was  a  New  York  dialect. 

As  a  newspaperman,  Lord  Northcliffe  was 
gratified  to  notice  that  the  lessening  of  the 
censorship  had  permitted  real  war  news  to 
come  from  the  front.  The  fact  that  able 
correspondents  are  allowed  to  tell  freely  and 
frankly  what  is  going  on  enables  readers 
with  imagination  to  grasp  the  magnitude  of 
the  war,  and  to  realize  that  the  equivalent 
of  the  South  African  campaign  or  the 
Crimean  War  is  being  fought  in  France 
practically  every  month. 

What  is  needed  by  the  Allies  as  well  as 
neutrals  is  a  continuous  demonstration  by 


AT  THE  FRONT  355 

skilled  writers,  artists,  lecturers,  cinemato- 
graph operators,  and  photographers  of  what 
is  happening,  in  order  to  impress  the  facts 
of  the  war  on  the  people  who  are  so  lavishly 
pouring  out  their  blood  and  treasure  to  over- 
throw German  tyranny  and  to  make  freedom 
possible  throughout  the  world. 

All  the  profits  accruing  from  the  sale  of  Lord  Northcliffe's 
Book  "At  the  War"  (George  H.  Doran  Company,  New  York; 
Hodder  &  Stoughton,  London)  are  devoted  to  the  work  of  the 
Red  Cross.  Nearly  $40,000  has  been  so  raised  and  disbursed. 


XII 
THE  BRITISH   WAR  MISSION 

WHEN  it  was  announced,  in  May,  1917, 
that  the  British  government  had  decided  to 
send  Lord  Northcliffe  to  the  United  States 
as  head  of  a  special  mission,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  reorganizing  the  vast  system  of 
purchasing  and  forwarding  supplies,  which 
had  been  in  operation  since  the  war  began, 
it  was  agreed  that  no  better  choice  for  the 
position  could  have  been  made.  His  tact, 
his  energy,  his  wide  experience  of  Ameri- 
can affairs,  and  his  genius  in  handling  great 
business  matters  were  all  factors  in  favor 
of  his  success  in  directing  this  important 
work. 

By  the  American  press  Lord  Northcliffe's 
coming  was  hailed  as  a  great  event.  Most 
Americans  had  heard  of  his  wonderful 
career.  They  had  not  forgotten  his  great 
fight  against  British  military  inefficiency  in 
1915,  when  his  victory  in  the  famous  "  Bat- 

356 


THE  BRITISH  WAR  MISSION     357 

tie  of  Shells  "  saved  England  from  disaster. 
They  also  remembered  that  for  years  he 
had  been  at  the  forefront  of  every  progres- 
sive movement  in  Great  Britain. 

On  the  fourth  of  June  the  British  com- 
missioners embarked  secretly  on  a  fast  ship, 
and  made  the  voyage  from  England  to  New 
York.  Every  precaution  had  been  taken 
against  German  spies  before  leaving,  and 
during  the  trip  a  sharp  watch  was  kept  for 
submarines,  but  fortunately  no  periscope 
was  sighted. 

When  the  commissioners  arrived  at  New 
York,  they  were  greeted  formally  by  repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States  government 
and  other  officials.  Lord  Northcliffe  was 
also  greeted  informally  by  a  large  gather- 
ing of  newspapermen.  He  was  interviewed 
and  photographed.  Stories  of  his  arrival, 
coupled  with  biographical  sketches,  ap- 
peared in  every  important  newspaper. 

As  in  England,  Lord  Northcliffe  was  not 
oblivious  to  the  humors  of  the  censorship. 
The  day  after  his  arrival  one  of  the  New 
York  newspapers,  in  attempting  to  follow 
censorship  rules,  naively  announced  that 
"  Lord  Northcliffe  arrived  at  an  American 


358  NORTHCLIFFE 

port  yesterday  and  went  at  once  to  the 
Hotel  Gotham."  When  a  reporter  asked 
him  what  he  thought  of  the  censorship,  he 
remarked  drily:  "  I  cannot  discuss  the  sub- 
ject, but  that  sentence,  I  think,  speaks  for 
itself." 

Lord  Northcliffe's  headquarters  at  the 
Hotel  Gotham  in  Fifth  Avenue  at  once  be- 
came a  center  of  attraction.  From  day  to 
day  they  were  crowded  with  visitors  of 
every  description,  from  financiers  and  heads 
of  important  industries,  military  men,  and 
politicians  down  to  "  men  with  schemes," 
men  with  something  to  sell,  and  the  usual 
throngs  of  reporters.  One  afternoon  the 
callers  included  the  president  of  the  largest 
banking  institution  outside  of  Wall  Street, 
the  president  of  an  important  Chicago  bank, 
and  the  head  of  a  great  manufacturing  com- 
pany. A  staff  of  secretaries  was  kept  busy 
receiving  and  sorting  these  visitors,  a  large 
proportion  of  whom  were  seen  by  Lord 
Northcliffe  himself. 

In  spite  of  the  hot  weather  which  pre- 
vailed at  the  time,  Lord  Northcliffe  dis- 
patched his  business  with  an  amount  of 
geniality  that  impressed  all  who  saw  him. 


THE  BRITISH  WAR  MISSION     359 

He  met  newspaper  representatives  as  often 
as  possible,  outlined  to  them  the  work  of 
the  mission,  and  incidentally  counteracted 
many  false  reports  concerning  British  in- 
activity in  the  war  which  had  been  circu- 
lated by  German  propagandists.  The 
American  press,  keen  and  eager,  new  to  the 
war,  drew  upon  his  experiences  at  the  front 
with  avidity.  He  was  able  to  dispel  many 
erroneous  impressions  regarding  the  actual 
state  of  affairs. 

Shortly  after  his  arrival,  Lord  North- 
cliffe  opened  offices  for  the  mission  in  a 
new  building  in  upper  Fifth  Avenue,  and 
a  large  staff  was  speedily  organized  in  order 
to  deal  with  executive  matters.  At  the  same 
time  another  department  was  established  in 
a  skyscraper  situated  in  the  center  of  the 
financial  district.  Here  another  staff  was 
installed.  Numerous  branch  offices  already 
existed  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  and 
these  were  included  in  the  general  plan  of 
reorganization. 

As  soon  as  the  preliminary  work  was 
completed,  Lord  Northcliffe  went  to  Wash- 
ington to  carry  on  his  work  there.  After 
meeting  the  President  and  the  principal 


360  NORTHCLIFFE 

leaders  in  the  government  and  receiving  the 
cooperation  of  the  British  Embassy,  he 
opened  offices  in  one  of  the  largest  build- 
ings and  gathered  another  capable  staff. 

With  President  Wilson  he  was  at  once  on 
cordial  terms.  Their  respect  and  liking  for 
each  other  gained  with  each  meeting.  To 
Lord  Northcliffe  the  President  appeared  to 
be  "  a  mixture  of  Scottish  caution  combined 
with  tenacity  and  American  unexpectedness 
— a  man  of  great  determination,  clarity  of 
vision,  and  fair-mindedness." 

During  his  stay  in  Washington,  Lord 
Northcliffe's  sunny  disposition  had  its  usual 
effect  upon  all  whom  he  met.  His  witty 
comments  upon  men  and  affairs  entertained 
them.  He  was  all  that  Americans  sup- 
posed an  Englishman  not  to  be.  Whether 
he  was  among  university  professors,  poli- 
ticians, members  of  the  learned  professions, 
or  business  men,  the  impression  made  was 
the  same — that  of  a  swift  observer,  of  a  man 
quick  to  grasp  essentials,  of  a  nature  slow 
to  impute  evil,  but  impatient  of  dullness 
or  incapacity,  of  a  personality  which  com- 
pelled the  epithet  "  great." 

While  he  was  at  the  capital  he  made  a 


THE  BRITISH  WAR  MISSION     361 

number  of  new  friends  in  official  circles, 
with  whom  he  discussed  politics  and  played 
golf.  He  won  the  hearts  of  the  local  news- 
papermen by  his  readiness  in  giving  inter- 
views that  were  full  of  interest,  and  with  the 
freemasonry  of  journalism  he  did  every- 
thing possible  to  help  even  the  humblest 
reporter. 

Thenceforward  he  made  New  York  his 
headquarters,  occasionally  visiting  Wash*- 
ington  and  also  making  trips  of  inspection 
to  various  industrial  centers.  Later  on  he 
visited  Detroit,  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  and 
other  cities  of  the  Middle  West.  During  his 
entire  stay  in  the  United  States  he  ob- 
served his  usual  custom  of  rising  at  five 
in  the  morning,  and  working  almost  inces- 
santly until  half-past  seven  in  the  evening. 
In  this  interval  he  met  important  business 
men  and  others,  arranged  big  deals,  worked 
on  his  system  of  reorganization,  and  gradu- 
ally brought  order  out  of  chaos.  He  retired 
promptly  at  ten  o'clock,  and  was  up  again 
at  five  the  next  morning,  ready  for  another 
day's  work.  His  marvelous  endurance  as- 
tonished his  American  friends. 

During  most  of  his  stay  in  New  York, 


362  NORTHCLIFFE 

Lord  Northcliffe  made  his  home  at  Bolton 
Priory,  one  of  the  largest  houses  in  Pelham 
Bay  Park,  a  well-known  suburb,  adjacent 
to  Long  Island  Sound.  Here  he  enter- 
tained visitors  and  found  rest  and  quiet,  the 
essential  antidotes  for  his  life  of  strenuous 
action. 

To  give  some  idea  of  the  colossal  task 
which  Lord  Northcliffe  had  undertaken  it  is 
necessary  to  explain  how  the  British  sys- 
tem of  army  supplies  had  been  developed 
from  the  early  days  of  the  war.  It  is  a 
story  that  reveals  the  magnitude  of  modern 
war  operations,  in  which  millions  of  men 
must  be  equipped,  clothed,  and  fed. 

In  1914,  when  the  great  conflict  began, 
the  visible  supplies  of  provisions  and  war 
materials  in  each  of  the  Allied  countries 
were  insufficient  for  the  purposes  of  a  long 
war.  The  Allies  were  therefore  compelled 
to  enter  neutral  markets  as  buyers  on  an 
extensive  scale.  The  United  States,  by  rea- 
son of  its  immense  resources,  became  Jhe 
greatest  market  of  all. 

Early  in  the  war  the  British  government 
enlarged  existing  departments  and  organ- 
ized still  greater  special  departments  of  na- 


In  Paris,  1917 

Lord  Northcliffe  starting  out  to  attend  a  preliminary 
meeting  of  the  Allied  War  Council 

(C)  Under'wood  &    Under'woo 


THE  BRITISH  WAR  MISSION     363 

tional  service  to  control  the  purchase  and 
distribution  of  supplies.  Some  of  the  latter 
eventually  surpassed  even  the  greatest  pri- 
vate businesses  in  the  enormous  extent  of 
their  dealings  and  expenditures.  At  that 
time  the  purchase  of  supplies  in  the  United 
States  was  placed  in  charge  of  J.  P.  Mor- 
gan &  Co.,  the  New  York  banking  firm, 
this  important  business  being  ably  directed 
by  Edward  R.  Stettinius,  a  member  of 
the  firm  and  a  well-known  financial 
expert. 

In  the  case  of  certain  other  Allied  powers, 
notably  Russia,  the  buying  and  awarding  of 
contracts  was  at  first  managed  somewhat 
loosely  by  special  representatives  who  were 
sent  to  New  York.  Realizing  this,  a  num- 
ber of  enterprising  Americans  were  struck 
with  the  idea  of  getting  options  on  war  ma- 
terials of  all  kinds  and  making  profitable 
deals  with  these  officials.  In  some  cases  men 
without  any  capital  obtained  important  op- 
tions on  chemicals,  munitions,  rifles,  lumber, 
foods,  metals,  and  other  commodities,  and 
by  acting  as  middlemen  cleared  large  for- 
tunes. In  the  vernacular  of  Wall  Street 
any  enterprise  that  is  launched  with  little  or 


364  NORTHCLIFFE 

no  capital  is  said  to  have  been  "  started  on  a 
shoestring."  These  fortunate  option  dealers 
were  consequently  termed  the  "  shoestring 
millionaires."  It  was  probably  because  of 
these  loosely  arranged  options  that  much 
confusion  arose  in  regard  to  supplies  in  the 
first  years  of  the  war.  In  some  cases  deliv- 
eries could  not  be  made,  and  in  several 
instances  large  quantities  of  defective  equip- 
ment were  rejected. 

At  the  beginning  of  1915,  when  the  New 
York  Stock  Exchange  reopened  after  hav- 
ing been  closed  for  some  months  because  of 
the  outbreak  of  war,  the  newspapers  were 
publishing  sensational  reports  of  huge  con- 
tracts awarded  to  American  companies  by 
the  Allied  governments,  amounting  to  un- 
told millions  of  dollars.  Orders  were  pour- 
ing in  for  munitions,  rifles,  guns,  motor 
boats,  electrical  equipment,  locomotives, 
metals,  foods,  cotton,  leather,  and  other 
commodities.  Some  of  the  enormous  orders 
for  copper  seriously  taxed  the  production  of 
American  mines. 

The  stocks  of  companies  which  had  re- 
ceived orders  immediately  began  to  advance, 
speculation  became  rampant,  and  thus  the 


THE  BRITISH  WAR  MISSION     365 

great  war  boom  commenced  in  Wall  Street. 
Advances  of  a  hundred  points  or  more  were 
common.  Bethlehem  Steel  (common),  for 
example,  rose  from  $50  to  over  $600  a  share. 
Electric  Boat,  which  had  been  quoted  below 
ten  dollars,  went  above  $400  a  share  in 
a  few  weeks.  Railroad-equipment  shares, 
automobile  shares,  and  many  others  scored 
sensational  advances.  Fortunes  were  made 
and  lost  daily  by  frenzied  speculators  in 
these  stocks,  which  were  popularly  termed 
"  the  war  brides." 

When  the  United  States  entered  the  war 
in  April,  1917,  the  competition  for  war  sup- 
plies was  greatly  increased,  and  it  became 
more  important  than  ever  for  the  Allies  to 
prevent  any  serious  reduction  in  the  quan- 
tities they  were  receiving.  At  that  time 
the  buying  for  the  Allies — Great  Britain 
excepted — had  been  coordinated  and  had  be- 
come better  managed.  Some  confusion  had 
arisen,  however,  in  regard  to  the  British 
buying,  which  had  been  transferred  from 
Morgan  &  Co.  to  less  efficient  hands.  The 
numerous  branch  offices  engaged  in  pur- 
chasing supplies  were  loosely  connected. 
What  the  British  mission  was  empowered 


366  NORTHCLIFFE 

to  do  was  to  reorganize  the  entire  system 
and  make  it  businesslike. 

An  idea  of  the  vast  dealings  of  the  Amer- 
ican branch  of  the  British  supply  system 
can  be  gathered  from  a  brief  mention  of 
some  of  the  things  that  are  required  for  the 
British  army  of  four  million  men.  Since 
the  beginning  of  the  war  the  value  of  the 
purchases  made  by  the  Contracts  Depart- 
ment in  London  has  aggregated  $3,750,- 
000,000.  The  gross  outlay  in  1917  was 
about  $1,750,000,000,  and  this  did  not  take 
in  guns,  munitions,  aeroplanes,  or  mechani- 
cal transport. 

Since  the  war  began  the  purchases  have 
included  105,000,000  yards  of  cloth;  115,- 
000,000  yards  of  flannel;  400,000,000 
pounds  of  bacon;  500,000,000  rations  of 
preserved  meat;  26,000,000  cans  of  jam; 
167,000,000  pounds  of  cheese;  35,000,000 
knives,  forks,  and  spoons;  35,000,000  pairs 
of  boots;  40,000,000  horseshoes;  and  25,- 
000,000  gas  helmets.  The  British  armies 
in  France  alone  require  every  month  95,000 
tons  of  oats;  4,000,000  gallons  of  gasoline; 
20,000  tons  of  flour;  10,000,000  pounds  of 
ham  and  jam;  and  75,000  tons  of  hay.  In 


THE  BRITISH  WAR  MISSION     367 

the  economies  effected  by  the  Contracts  De- 
partment and  the  mobilization  of  materials 
that  has  been  achieved,  the  highest  degree 
of  business  efficiency  has  been  attained.  It 
has  done  away  with  excessive  war  profits, 
the  supplying  of  inferior  materials,  and 
other  evils  that  formerly  resulted  from  war 
contracts. 

At  the  Contracts  Department  in  London 
over  70,000  manufacturers  or  dealers  are 
listed.  These  firms  are  in  every  neutral  or 
Allied  country,  but  mainly  in  Great  Britain, 
Canada,  Australia,  and  the  United  States. 
They  can  produce  anything  that  the  British 
armies  require.  When  the  armies  cannot 
get  what  they  want  from  some  outside  firm, 
the  government  makes  it  on  its  own  account. 
On  the  index,  for  instance,  under  the  head 
of  "  Biscuits  "  or  "  Crackers  "  are  the  names 
of  every  available  biscuit-producing  estab- 
lishment in  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States.  There  is  also  a  record  of  every  con- 
tract that  each  firm  has  had  with  the  British 
government,  with  the  date  and  the  price. 

Thousands  of  contracts  of  all  kinds  are 
made  in  the  course  of  the  year.  Some  sec- 
tions of  the  Contracts  Department  control 


368  NORTHCLIFFE 

such  a  vast  amount  of  business  that  they 
have  become  separate  and  self-sufficient 
groups.  The  Royal  Army  Clothing  De- 
partment, for  example,  spent  about  $250,- 
000,000  in  1917.  After  food,  the  next  im- 
portant item  is  clothes.  The  contracts  are 
awarded  to  regular  manufacturers,  and  each 
manufacturer  produces  one  definite  article, 
such  as  a  jacket,  trousers,  puttees,  socks, 
shoes,  or  a  cap.  Inspection  plays  an  im- 
portant part  in  this  department.  Every 
garment  must  conform  to  specifications  or  it 
is  returned. 

Some  idea  of  the  scope  and  effectiveness 
of  the  inspection  can  be  gained  from  the 
fact  that  in  July,  1917,  out  of  3,000,000 
pieces  of  clothing  inspected  117,000  were 
rejected.  Out  of  2,000,000  pairs  of  shoes 
sent  in  68,000  were  turned  down.  In  one 
lot  of  184,000  sheepskin  coats — worn  by 
motor-truck  drivers — 27,000  were  below 
standard. 

As  a  recent  writer  has  remarked :  "  The 
business  of  war  as  represented  by  the  sys- 
tem of  supplies  and  transportation  of  the 
British  army  is  nothing  more  or  less  than  a 
colossal  piece  of  merchandizing  that  has  be- 


THE  BRITISH  WAR  MISSION     369 

come  a  triumph  of  standardization.  It 
expresses  the  genius  of  organization  of  a 
hundred  United  States  Steel  Corporations, 
Standard  Oil  Companies,  and  International 
Harvester  Companies  rolled  into  one." 

The  American  branch  of  this  great  sys- 
tem which  Lord  Northcliffe  reorganized, 
had  control  of  expenditures  that  were 
roughly  estimated  to  range  from  fifty  to 
eighty  million  dollars  a  week.  One  news- 
paper calculation  placed  the  amount  at 
$3,996,816,000  a  year,  or  at  the  rate  of 
$10,958,400  a  day,  $456,600  an  hour,  $7610 
a  minute.  In  commenting  on  this  enormous 
outlay  Lord  Northcliff e  said :  "  I  was  sent 
to  the  United  States  not  only  because  I 
have  been  here  twenty  times  before,  but 
because  I  am  accustomed  to  directing  large 
organizations,  and  it  was  felt  by  the  British 
government  that  some  one  should  supervise 
these  huge  disbursements  which  are  passing 
into  American  pockets  every  week.  Until 
my  coming  all  the  great  purchasing  depart- 
ments in  the  United  States  were  without  a 
head.  Now  the  business  is  working  smoothly 
and  efficiently." 

Certain  pro-German  newspapers  had  mis- 


370  NORTHCLIFFE 

stated  the  facts  about  these  expenditures, 
and  had  asserted  that  Great  Britain  had 
borrowed  billions  from  the  United  States  to 
spend  in  England.  Lord  Northcliife  dis- 
pelled this  illusion  by  a  prompt  explanation: 
"The  credit  of  $185,000,000  monthly  ar- 
ranged by  the  United  States  government 
was  intended  to  be  used  by  Great  Britain 
for  the  purchase  of  war  supplies  in  the 
United  States.  This  amount  has  been  sup- 
plemented by  our  own  expenditures.  These 
expenditures  mean  a  substantial  sum  every 
day  for  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in 
the  United  States.  I  do  not  mention  this  in 
order  to  glorify  war  but  merely  to  show  that 
it  indicates  an  appreciation  of  American 
products,  which  are  invariably  excellent." 

Operating  under  Lord  Northcliffe's  direc- 
tion were  three  principal  British  depart- 
ments, besides  many  representatives  dis- 
patched to  this  country  by  the  British  Min- 
istry of  Munitions,  the  War  Department, 
and  the  Admiralty.  The  three  departments 
— Production,  Inspection,  and  Railway  and 
Shipping — had  their  headquarters  in  New 
York.  Of  these  the  Production  Depart- 
ment is  probably  the  most  important.  It 


THE  BRITISH  WAR  MISSION    371 

records  all  progress  that  is  being  made  in  the 
United  States  in  the  manufacture  of  big 
guns  and  high  explosives,  and  in  fact  every- 
thing connected  with  munitions.  It  also 
arranges  railway  rulings  for  munitions.  Its 
third  important  function  is  to  check  quan- 
tities and  weights  of  various  parts  from 
contractors  or  factories  right  down  to  the 
ships.  The  work  of  the  Inspection  Depart- 
ment differs  from  that  of  the  Production 
Department,  being  confined  to  inspecting 
the  quality  of  the  munitions  supplied.  The 
Railway  and  Shipping  Department  controls 
the  movements  of  British  shipping  to  and 
from  this  country  and  the  forwarding  of 
supplies  from  interior  points  in  the  United 
States  to  the  coast. 

Few  people  in  the  United  States  have  any 
idea  of  the  extent  of  the  British  organiza- 
tion. To  an  interviewer  with  whom  he  dis- 
cussed this  subject,  Lord  Northcliffe  said: 
"  Most  people  think  of  the  British  supply 
system  in  this  country  as  consisting  of  a 
thousand  men  or  so.  Of  course  there  is  a 
small  group  at  the  head  of  it,  but  as  a  mat- 
ter of  fact  we  have  ten  thousand  men  in  the 
United  States  and  Canada  who  are  engaged 


372  NORTHCLIFFE 

directly  or  indirectly  in  purchasing,  inspect- 
ing, checking,  or  arranging  the  transporta- 
tion of  food,  munitions,  and  all  the  rest  of 
our  supplies.  At  the  present  time  I  am 
responsible  for  all  of  them." 

The  astonished  interviewer  added:  "The 
picture  was  complete.  Here  was  indeed  the 
greatest  spender  in  the  world's  history,  re- 
sponsible for  the  disbursement  of  nearly  four 
billion  dollars  yearly,  so  gigantic  a  task 
that  there  were  needed  ten  thousand  agents 
under  him  whose  daily  task  it  was  to  spend, 
spend,  spend ! " 

Lord  Northcliffe  was  asked  whether  bids 
had  to  be  made  in  open  market,  and  if  so, 
whether  it  tended  to  drive  prices  up.  He 
replied:  "We  formerly  had  to  bid  in  the 
open  market  and  had  to  pay  eight  and  a 
half  cents  a  pound  for  steel,  for  example. 
But  that  was  before  the  Exports  Adminis- 
trative Board  was  established  under  Judge 
Lovett,  to  pass  on  priority  of  demands. 
Now  the  United  States  and  England  buy 
side  by  side.  We  used  to  be  represented  in 
this  country  by  Morgan  &  Co.,  but  now  all 
our  buying  of  metals  is  done  through  the 
Lovett  board,  as  it  should  be.  But  we  have 


THE  BRITISH  WAR  MISSION     373 

our  own  offices,  of  course — two  or  three  big 
suites  in  New  York,  and  others  at  a  hundred 
other  points." 

Lord  Northcliffe  did  not  fail  to  grasp 
the  humorous  side  of  the  war-contract  busi- 
ness, and  the  devices  employed  by  "  men 
with  schemes,"  who  secured  options  with  a 
view  to  becoming  "  shoestring  millionaires." 
In  talking  of  this  he  said :  "  Before  the 
American  Exports  Board  was  established  we 
had  salesmen  of  every  conceivable  sort  over- 
running our  offices  all  day  long.  Hordes 
of  them  crowded  into  our  anterooms.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  most  of  them  had  nothing 
in  stock  but  nerve.  Why,  they  hadn't  a 
factory  to  their  names — just  depended  on 
getting  an  order  from  us,  and  then  going 
out  and  finding  a  factory  on  the  strength 
of  that  order." 

When  Lord  Northcliffe  was  asked  in  what 
direction  most  of  England's  money  went  in 
the  United  States,  he  dispelled  the  notion 
that  fifty  per  cent  of  it  was  devoted  to 
purchases  of  grain,  meat,  and  other  food- 
stuffs. He  said  that  food  was  a  big  item, 
but  not  so  large  as  fifty  per  cent  or  any- 
where near  that  proportion.  Commenting 


374  NORTHCLIFFE 

on  this  statement,  one  editorial  writer  re- 
marked that  investigation  disclosed  that  of 
six  billion  dollars'  worth  of  exports  from 
the  United  States  during  twelve  months 
ending  in  June,  1917,  meat  and  dairy  prod- 
ucts, breadstuffs,  refined  sugar,  and  glucose 
all  put  together  did  not  make  up  much 
more  than  a  tenth  part  of  the  whole.  Still 
the  amount  of  breadstuffs  exported  in  that 
period,  valued  at  $113,000,000,  was  double 
the  amount  exported  in  the  year  before  the 
war  began. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  in  1917  Great 
Britain  purchased  $250,000,000  worth  of 
copper  in  the  United  States  and  half  a  bil- 
lion dollars'  worth  of  explosives.  On  this 
point  Lord  Northcliffe  observed :  "  It  is  im- 
possible to  say  what  commodities  make  up 
the  bulk  of  our  American  purchases,  because 
they  vary  from  day  to  day.  One  week  we 
are  buying  grain,  the  next  something  else — 
copper,  for  instance,  tremendous  amounts 
of  copper.  Iron,  steel,  brass,  cotton  and 
woolen  goods,  oil  and  meats,  autos  and 
trucks,  and  a  myriad  of  other  things  are 
purchased.  I  am  the  responsible  buyer,  it  is 
true,  but  one  cannot  go  wrong  with  the 


THE  BRITISH  WAR  MISSION     375 

hundreds  of  inspectors  that  we  have  over 
here,  extremely  keen  young  fellows  all  of 
them.  This,  however,  is  a  young  man's 
war." 

Throughout  his  life  Lord  Northcliffe  has 
owed  much  of  the  success  of  his  ventures 
to  his  shrewd  selection  of  those  whom  he 
always  speaks  of  as  his  "  associates  "  or  "  col- 
leagues." When  he  became  head  of  the 
British  War  Mission  he  secured  the  most 
competent  men  he  could  find  to  help  him. 
His  staffs  were  made  up  of  experts  in  their 
various  lines.  He  concentrated  most  of  his 
efforts  on  perfecting  the  directing  organiza- 
tion in  New  York.  When  he  returned  to 
England  he  was  able  to  feel  that  the  great 
business  of  purchasing  and  forwarding 
would  run  smoothly  under  the  capable  direc- 
tion of  Sir  Frederick  Black  and  Sir  An- 
drew Caird,  who  were  left  in  charge. 
Valuable  aid  was  also  given  by  Sir  Charles 
Gadon,  vice-president  of  the  Bank  of 
Montreal,  one  of  Canada's  ablest  business 
men,  who  was  stationed  in  Washington,  by 
the  Honorable  Robert  Brand,  partner  of 
the  famous  Paris  house  of  Lazard  Brothers, 
and  by  Edward  R.  Stettinius,  who  had  man- 


376  NORTHCLIFFE 

aged  the  buying  for  the  British  government 
so  efficiently  in  the  first  years  of  the  war. 

The  nature  of  the  transactions  which  have 
been  conducted  in  the  United  States  by  the 
British  War  Mission  cannot  be  specifically 
described,  although  they  can  be  easily 
guessed  at  from  the  brief  account  that  has 
been  given.  Few  people,  however,  could 
form  an  accurate  idea  of  the  extent  of  the 
business  done  in  New  York  alone  or  the 
number  of  people  engaged  in  doing  it.  The 
Railway  and  Shipping  Department,  for  in- 
stance, employs  many  hundreds  of  people, 
both  in  New  York  and  at  other  points.  In 
an  article  on  the  work  of  the  mission  a  writer 
in  the  New  York  Evening  World  gave  the 
following  description  of  this  department: 

"  On  the  second  floor  of  a  vast  office  build- 
ing in  lower  Broadway  there  is  a  whole 
range  of  big  rooms,  taking  up  10,000  feet 
of  floor  space,  at  a  rental  of  $22,500 
(£4500)  a  year.  These  rooms  are  filled 
with  busy  workers.  They  are  fitted  with  the 
latest  office  appliances.  You  would  say 
they  were  the  offices  of  some  great  indus- 
trial corporation. 

"  So  they  are.    The  British  Empire  is  at 


present  the  greatest  industrial  corporation 
in  the  world,  though  the  United  States  will 
soon  rival  and  very  likely  pass  it  when  the 
war  industries  of  the  country  are  in  full 
swing.  All  those  people  in  the  second  floor 
of  that  vast  Broadway  office  building  are 
working  out  the  transportation  of  enormous 
shipments  of  all  kinds  of  freight  from  Amer- 
ican ports  to  Great  Britain. 

'  The  other  branches  of  the  mission — 
and  there  are  a  great  many  of  them — are 
buying  all  that  this  shipping  department  can 
send  across  the  ocean.  Buying  munitions  of 
war,  which  means  shells,  guns,  rifles,  cart- 
ridges, explosives;  buying  grain,  buying  cot- 
ton, buying  oil,  buying  mules  and  horses, 
buying  hogs. 

"  Britain  has  sent  the  best  men  she  could 
find  to  the  United  States  on  this  purchasing 
errand,  because  it  is  clear  that  at  the  pres- 
ent moment  there  is  no  more  important 
work  than  this  to  be  done.  Upon  the 
shipments  from  the  United  States  depends 
in  a  large  measure  the  issue  of  the  war. 
Thus  a  short  time  ago  there  came  a  hurry 
call  for  oil  that  was  needed  urgently  in  the 
United  Kingdom  for  war  purposes.  At 


378  NORTHCLIFFE 

once  the  mission  headquarters  got  busy.  The 
most  prominent  oil  men  in  the  country  were 
asked  for  their  assistance,  which  they  gave 
generously,  and  with  the  most  valuable  ef- 
fect. '  We  swam  in  oil,'  Lord  Northcliffe 
said  humorously,  *  we  breathed  oil.  The 
whole  place  seemed  to  reek  of  it.'  The  re- 
sult was  a  steady  shipment  of  oil  across  the 
Atlantic." 

Such  was  the  gigantic  work  of  reorganiza- 
tion that  Lord  Northcliffe  undertook  in 
June,  1917,  and  successfully  completed  by 
December,  when  he  returned  to  England. 
So  pronounced  was  his  success  that  be- 
fore his  return  he  received  a  message  of 
congratulation  from  the  British  War  Coun- 
cil, expressing  the  warmest  appreciation  of 
his  services.  That  the  mission  succeeded  so 
well  was  entirely  due  to  his  clear-headed 
business  ability.  In  less  than  six  months 
he  had  dispelled  confusion,  established  an 
efficient  system,  introduced  economies,  and 
speeded  up  the  purchasing  and  forwarding 
of  supplies.  When  he  left  New  York  the 
whole  machinery  of  organization  was  run- 
ning with  the  ease  of  a  perfect  machine. 

After  his  return  to  London,  Lord  North- 


THE  BRITISH  WAR  MISSION     379 

cliffe  had  an  audience  with  King  George 
at  Buckingham  Palace,  when  he  received 
His  Majesty's  thanks,  and  was  also  re- 
quested to  thank  the  associate  members  of 
the  British  mission  for  their  good  work,  in 
which  they  had  been  so  effectively  assisted 
by  their  American  colleagues.  In  conversa- 
tion with  Lord  Northcliffe  at  that  time  the 
king  spoke  in  high  terms  of  the  American 
mission  to  the  Allies  and  of  Colonel  House, 
whom  he  had  known  for  some  years.  The 
mission,  he  said,  displayed  the  energy  and 
alertness  indicative  of  American  character 
and  purpose.  Lord  Northcliffe  was  sur- 
prised at  the  king's  intimate  knowledge  of 
the  possibilities  of  aircraft  production  in  the 
United  States,  his  interest  in  the  Liberty 
Motor,  his  knowledge  of  the  men  who  had 
evolved  it,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  was 
produced. 

As  a  further  recognition  of  his  services 
Lord  Northcliffe  was  shortly  afterwards 
honored  with  the  higher  title  of  viscount. 
His  energies  were  not  allowed  to  rest,  for 
in  less  than  a  month  he  organized  a  London 
headquarters  for  the  British  War  Mission, 
establishing  them  at  Crewe  House,  one  of 


380 NORTHCLIFFE 

the  great  London  mansions,  where  a  large 
staff  was  soon  busily  managing  the  British 
end  of  the  great  system  of  purchasing  and 
forwarding  carried  on  in  the  United  States. 
Crewe  House  was  at  once  prepared  for  the 
entertainment  of  representatives  of  the 
United  States,  France,  and  other  Allied  na- 
tions visiting  England  on  business.  The 
banquet  hall  and  ballroom  were  renovated, 
and  paintings  to  adorn  the  walls  were 
brought  from  the  National  Gallery. 

Apart  from  his  arduous  work  in  connec- 
tion with  the  British  War  Mission,  Lord 
Northcliffe  found  time  in  the  United  States 
to  help  the  Allied  cause  by  presenting  the 
truth  about  the  war  in  articles  that  he  con- 
tributed to  American  newspapers  and  maga- 
zines. Although  pressure  of  business  pre- 
vented him  from  accepting  many  invitations 
to  address  business,  political,  and  social  or- 
ganizations which  poured  in  during  his  stay 
in  America,  he  managed  to  speak  on  sev- 
eral important  occasions  in  New  York,  Chi- 
cago, and  elsewhere. 

It  is  doubtful  if  any  other  British  public 
man  could  have  upheld  the  cause  of  the  Allies 
so  successfully  as  Lord  Northcliffe.  It  is 


THE  BRITISH  WAR  MISSION     381 

certain  that  none  could  have  done  it  with 
more  vigor,  could  have  made  a  better  impres- 
sion upon  the  government  and  people  of  the 
United  States,  and  implanted  more  forcibly 
the  conviction  of  Britain's  resolute  will  to 
conquer,  of  her  faith  in  her  resources  and 
her  Allies,  of  her  steady  confidence  that  vic- 
tory can  in  time  be  won. 

It  was  a  difficult  task  for  Lord  North- 
cliffe,  because  he  followed  in  the  wake  of  the 
Right  Honorable  Arthur  James  Balfour, 
M.P.,  who  had  visited  the  United  States  in 
April,  at  the  head  of  a  special  mission  to 
emphasize  the  aims  and  ideals  of  the  British 
people  in  conducting  the  war.  Mr.  Bal- 
four's  engaging  manners  won  him  immediate 
popularity.  His  deftly  phrased  speeches 
were  read  with  admiration.  But  Mr.  Bal- 
four to  the  American  people  was  an  exotic. 
They  were  curious  about  him  as  one  of  the 
older  statesmen  of  England.  He  was  in 
appearance  and  speech  what  one  of  the 
newspapers,  without  offensive  or  even  hu- 
morous intention,  called  "  an  interesting 
survival." 

Lord  Northcliife,  however,  was  fortunate 
in  representing  a  completely  different  type 


382  NORTHCLIFFE 

of  Briton.  It  was  desirable  from  the  British 
point  of  view  to  impress  upon  the  American 
people  that  they  had  not  come  to  the  rescue 
of  an  effete  civilization.  It  was  necessary  to 
show  them  that  their  allies,  the  British,  as  a 
race  are  no  less  virile  and  resourceful  than 
they  are  themselves.  Among  Americans  an 
idea  had  widely  prevailed  that  England  had 
become  "  played  out "  and  that  the  British 
people  were  timid  and  unenterprising  haters 
of  innovation.  That  idea  has  diminished 
since  the  war  began.  Nothing  could  have 
done  more  to  dispel  it  entirely  than  the 
vigorous  work  of  Lord  Northcliffe  in  the 
United  States. 

After  his  return  to  England  Lord  North- 
cliffe  used  all  the  influence  of  his  newspapers 
in  supporting  the  plan  for  an  Allied  War 
Council  to  meet  at  Versailles,  and  to  bring 
about  the  concentration  of  effort  which  was 
needed  to  win  the  war.  Each  country  had 
been  fighting  on  its  own  initiative,  and  it  was 
difficult  to  get  satisfactory  results,  whereas 
the  Central  Powers  had  been  united. 

When  this  plan  was  recommended  by 
President  Wilson,  an  interview  was  given 
out  by  Lord  Northcliffe,  in  which  he  said: 


THE  BRITISH  WAR  MISSION     383 

"  Not  one  Englishman  in  a  hundred  under- 
stands the  position  and  power  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  By  most  Eng- 
lishmen he  is  regarded  as  an  American 
prime  minister.  Our  prime  minister,  of 
course,  is  removable  by  a  single  adverse 
majority  vote  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
It  is  not  understood  over  here  that  the 
President  cannot  be  removed  from  office  ex- 
cept in  extremely  rare  circumstances,  that 
he  has  more  power  than  a  constitutional 
monarch,  and  has  supreme  authority  over 
the  army  and  navy.  This  explains  why 
President  Wilson's  message  to  Colonel 
House  in  regard  to  the  Allied  War  Coun- 
cil was  published  so  inconspicuously  by  most 
English  newspapers." 

After  the  council  had  been  established 
Lord  Northcliffe  said:  "  It  is  no  secret  that 
at  the  suggestion  of  Secretary  McAdoo,  M. 
Andre  Tardieu  and  I  worked  on  this  plan 
for  months  in  the  United  States.  It  ought 
to  have  been  put  in  hand  long  ago.  If 
action  had  been  taken  at  the  time  desired 
by  Mr.  McAdoo,  the  Italian  disaster  in 
December,  1917,  might  have  been  averted. 
Before  the  cooperative  principle  went  into 


384  NORTHCLIFFE 

effect,  the  war  was  conducted  in  a  manner 
that  would  have  ruined  even  the  United 
States  Steel  Corporation  in  less  than  two 
weeks." 

In  February,  1918,  Lord  Northcliffe  ac- 
cepted the  position  of  Director  of  Propa- 
ganda in  Enemy  Countries,  while  continuing 
his  work  on  the  British  War  Mission.  He 
had  agreed  to  use  his  intimate  knowledge  of 
enemy  countries  to  enable  reports  of  im- 
portant speeches  and  statements  of  war  aims 
to  reach  the  peoples  of  the  Central  Powers 
and  their  allies,  and  thus  disseminate  the 
truth  in  communities  where  it  had  been  per- 
sistently suppressed. 


XIII 
A  MESSAGE  TO  AMERICA 

SINCE  the  war  began,  it  has  been  re- 
marked, the  people  of  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain  have  discovered  that  they 
are  in  closer  community  of  essential  thought 
and  purpose  than  they  had  previously  sus- 
pected. There  has  been  a  striking  simi- 
larity in  the  methods  which  both  nations 
have  adopted  in  dealing  with  the  intricate 
problems  of  war  time.  Furthermore,  allow- 
ing for  their  greater  distance  from  the  fir- 
ing line,  Americans  have  thought  about 
the  great  issues  of  the  war  almost  exactly 
as  the  British  have  thought  about  them. 

The  American  people  have  followed  the 
phases  of  the  war  in  Great  Britain,  the 
blunderings,  the  tenacity,  the  onset  of  con- 
scription in  an  essentially  non-military  com- 
munity, with  the  complete  understanding  of 
a  nation  similarly  circumstanced,  differing 
only  by  scale  and  distance.  They  have  now 

385 


386 NQRTHCLIFFE 

been  through  something  of  the  sort  them- 
selves. It  had  not  before  occurred  to  many 
Americans  how  parallel  the  two  countries 
are.  They  begin  now  to  have  an  inkling  of 
how  much  closer  the  resemblance  may  pres- 
ently become. 

More  than  any  other  British  public  man, 
Lord  Northcliffe  has  a  profound  under- 
standing of  this  similarity  in  national  aims 
and  methods.  Through  his  wide  knowledge 
of  American  affairs  he  has  been  enabled  to 
view  the  important  questions  of  the  war 
from  what  may  be  termed  an  Anglo- 
American  standpoint,  and  this  has  been  evi- 
dent in  much  that  he  has  written  in  the  last 
three  years. 

During  his  visit  to  the  United  States  as 
head  of  the  British  War  Mission,  Lord 
Northcliffe,  as  already  mentioned,  contrib- 
uted some  highly  interesting  articles  to 
newspapers  and  magazines,  in  which  he  dis- 
cussed a  variety  of  topics  incident  to  the 
war.  He  also  addressed  a  number  of  im- 
portant gatherings.  One  of  his  most  notable 
speeches  was  delivered  at  the  British  re- 
cruiting celebration  held  at  Madison  Square 
Garden,  New  York,  where  an  audience  of 


A  MESSAGE   TO  AMERICA      387 

14,000  greeted  him  with  enthusiastic  ap- 
plause. Another  interesting  occasion  on 
which  he  spoke  was  in  Kansas  City,  where 
he  addressed  a  convention  of  2000  news- 
paper editors  of  the  Middle  West. 

The  introductions  at  the  meetings  at  which 
Lord  Northcliffe  appeared  led  his  hearers 
to  expect  a  great  deal  from  his  speeches. 
They  were  not  disappointed,  for  he  made 
an  instant  impression  of  forcefulness  and 
sincerity.  As  he  had  none  of  the  wiles 
of  the  professional  orator,  there  was  nothing 
flamboyant  in  his  phrases.  He  did  not  at- 
tempt to  work  up  effective  points  with  the 
aim  of  inviting  applause.  But  there  was 
meat  in  every  one  of  his  sentences.  He  in- 
variably paid  his  audiences  the  compliment 
of  assuming  that  they  did  not  want  mere 
rhetoric.  Therefore  he  did  not  speak  as 
one  who  talked  for  the  sake  of  talking. 

In  most  of  his  speeches  what  he  had  to 
say  was  not  very  palatable.  He  could  have 
won  cheap  and  easy  applause  by  telling 
people  what  they  would  have  liked  to  hear 
— that  the  war  was  almost  won,  that  the 
submarine  menace  had  failed,  and  that  the 
task  of  the  United  States  would  not  be  drffi- 


388  NORTHCLIFFE 

cult.  Instead  of  that,  he  told  his  audiences 
what  he  believed  to  be  the  truth  about  the 
war,  sending  them  away  thoughtful,  but 
braced  to  the  necessity  for  effort  and  sacri- 
fice. His  criticism  was  constructive, — 
"  Build  ships,  save  food,  pull  yourselves 
together  for  a  long  war."  He  treated  the 
war  as  a  grave  calamity  affecting  every- 
body, a  calamity  which  everybody  could  do 
something  to  combat  if  they  were  only  told 
what  that  something  might  be. 

Lord  Northcliffe  discussed  the  war  as  it 
had  never  been  discussed  by  politicians  in 
England.  At  all  points  his  wisdom  of  talk- 
ing plainly  and  frankly  was  entirely  justi- 
fied by  the  manner  in  which  his  speeches 
were  received.  One  of  the  newspaper  edi- 
tors after  the  Kansas  City  gathering  began 
his  description  of  it  by  saying  that  the  talk 
they  had  heard  had  taught  them  a  great 
deal  which  they  did  not  know  before.  He 
also  said  that  Lord  Northcliffe  had  not  only 
made  every  one  feel  sure  that  he  knew  what 
he  was  talking  about,  but  that  he  meant 
every  word  that  he  said.  It  was  his  obvious 
sincerity,  his  evident  desire  not  to  make  a 
showy  effect,  but  to  thresh  the  wheat  of 


A  MESSAGE   TO  AMERICA      389 

reality  from  the  chaff  of  illusion,  which 
won  his  audiences  over  as  soon  as  he  began 
to  speak  and  which  held  their  attention. 

The  plain-spoken  utterances  of  Lord 
Northcliffe,  typical  of  his  character  as  an 
observer  and  thinker,  did  much  toward 
counteracting  the  mischievous  work  of  Ger- 
man propagandists.  He  lost  no  opportu- 
nity to  state  the  case  of  the  Allies,  and  to 
explain  why  they  had  united  against  the 
common  foe  of  democracy.  His  views  on 
the  war  in  its  relation  to  the  United  States 
showed  plainly  that  he  had  a  thorough 
understanding  of  our  national  ideals  and 
purposes.  In  many  ways  his  public  utter- 
ances constituted  a  stirring  message  to 
America,  and  one  that  is  particularly  inter- 
esting at  the  present  time.  For  that  rea- 
son the  following  resume  of  some  of  the 
things  that  he  said  in  his  articles  and 
speeches  forms  an  appropriate  addition  to 
his  biography. 

In  discussing  the  striking  resemblance  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Great  Britain 
before  and  since  the  war  began,  Lord  North- 
cliffe, in  one  of  his  addresses,  pointed  out 
that  both  countries  had  been  over  wealthy 


390  NORTHCLIFFE 

and  equally  unprepared  for  defense  against 
the  attack  of  a  powerful  enemy.  "  If  Eng- 
land," he  said,  "  had  possessed  only  a  mild 
form  of  military  insurance  there  would  have 
been  no  war.  Like  yourselves,  however, 
we  were  eternally  talking  about  money, 
business,  or  territorial  expansion.  The 
United  States  has  been  like  an  over-rich 
corporation  and  has  invited  trouble  from 
hungry  competitors.  We  were  in  precisely 
the  same  position.  It  is  a  curious  fact, 
moreover,  that  the  richer  people  become  the 
more  they  preach  peace.  It  pleases  them 
and  their  pockets.  We  were  all  purse  and 
no  fist. 

"  The  Germans  knew  of  our  weak  points, 
and  they  suddenly  fell  upon  us.  Fortu- 
nately for  ourselves,  a  certain  number  among 
us  had  insisted  upon  having  a  modern  navy, 
although  some  of  our  richest  people,  as  well 
as  those  most  politically  strong,  advocated 
a  reduction  of  the  fleet.  Great  Britain, 
however,  had  only  a  small  army  and  was 
unprepared  for  aerial  warfare.  In  the  early 
days  of  the  war  if  the  Germans,  instead  of 
fooling  with  Zeppelin  gas-bags,  had  been 
enterprising  enough  to  land  fifty  thousand 


A  MESSAGE   TO  AMERICA      391 

troops  from  aeroplanes  in  England,  and 
these  invaders  had  intrenched  themselves, 
we  should  have  had  considerable  difficulty 
in  ejecting  them.  If  we  had  only  spent 
as  much  in  the  right  kind  of  preparedness 
each  year  as  we  are  now  spending  in  two 
weeks  of  the  war  (our  daily  expenditure  is 
over  $30,000,000)  this  war  could  not  have 
happened." 

As  to  Germany's  reasons  for  beginning 
the  war,  Lord  Northcliffe  expressed  the 
opinion  that  they  were  not  commercial  but 
dynastic.  "  No  doubt  there  were  commer- 
cial interests  in  Germany  that  were  foolish 
enough  to  believe  they  would  be  benefited. 
But  the  aim  of  Prussian  Junkerdom  was  to 
establish  a  world  domination.  Commerce 
was  to  lend  its  aid,  but  commerce  was  to  be 
a  means  towards  the  attainment  of  the 
war  party's  object  and  not  an  end  in  itself. 
So  much  is  certain.  Equally  certain  it  is 
that  commercial  ambitions  had  nothing  to  do 
with  Austria-Hungary's  reasons  for  fighting, 
nor  for  those  of  Turkey  or  Bulgaria.  They 
joined  with  Germany  because  Germany  al- 
ternately threatened  and  cajoled  their  rulers. 

"The    German   people   have    been    pur- 


392  NORTHCLIFFE 

posely  deluded  into  the  belief  that  they  are 
defending  themselves  against  foes  who  are 
set  upon  crushing  them  out  of  existence,  a 
design  which  nobody  but  a  lunatic  would 
conceive  or  imagine  possible  of  execution. 
Austria  fancies  that  she  went  to  war  to  de- 
fend herself  against  Russia,  the  truth  being 
that  she  was  used  as  a  cat's-paw  by  the 
Hohenzollern  gang."  * 

The  Kaiser's  grandiose  scheme  for  an 
empire  of  Middle  Europe  that  would 
stretch  from  Antwerp  to  Bagdad,  dominate 
the  world,  smash  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  ab- 
sorb South  America,  and  levy  tribute  upon 
the  United  States  has  been  revealed  since 
the  war  began.  In  referring  to  this  menace, 
Lord  Northcliffe  remarked:  "So  you  know 
what  Germany  was  after.  She  envied  the 
people  with  the  goods  and  had  a  great  de- 
sire to  control  countries  that  possess  coal, 
iron,  and  other  valuable  resources.  There 
is  no  sentiment  about  German  warfare.  We 
are  very  wealthy  in  Britain  and  so  are  you 
in  the  United  States.  Germany  did  not 
want  a  little  country  like  Belgium.  She  was 
after  something  bigger." 

*  Qurrent  Opinion, 


A  MESSAGE   TO  AMERICA     393 

In  reviewing  the  position  of  the  Allies, 
Lord  Northcliff e  said :  "  Here,  in  the  United 
States,  I  am  told,  and  I  have  discovered 
proof  for  myself,  there  are  people  who  have 
been  deluded  by  German  and  pro-German 
propagandists  into  supposing  that  this  is  a 
'  commercial  war,'  although  it  is  not  easy  to 
make  out  exactly  what  they  mean  by  that 
expression.  As  far  as  I  can  learn,  they  sup- 
pose that  the  combatants  are  each  seeking 
to  obtain  control  of  the  world's  markets. 
They  even  suggest  that  it  was  a  motive  of 
this  kind  that  brought  the  United  States  in. 
The  argument  runs  thus:  The  big  American 
interests  were  so  heavily  committed  by  their 
dealings  with  the  Allies  that  they  forced  the 
government  of  the  United  States  to  inter- 
vene in  order  that  they  might  not  lose  their 
money.  It  will  be  useful  to  examine  this 
delusion  and  to  knock  away  the  props  on 
which  it  stands. 

"  No  one  in  England  was  ever  insane 
enough  to  propose  that  Britain  should  try 
to  meet  German  competition  by  fighting 
Germany.  The  proposal  had  been  made 
that  Britain  should  abandon  her  system  of 
free  trade  under  which  Germans  were  able 


394  NORTHCLIFFE 

to  do  business  as  freely  as  Britons  in  any 
British  dominion  or  dependency.  But  that 
proposal  was  not  adopted.  What  would 
have  been  the  good  of  Britain  going  to  war 
with  Germany  in  order  to  secure  markets? 
As  soon  as  she  had  secured  them  they  would 
have  been  open  to  German  as  freely  as  to 
British  trade.  The  German  Vice- Chancel- 
lor, Dr.  Helfferich,  has  asserted  that  Great 
Britain's  object  was  *  the  economic  oppres- 
sion of  Germany.'  How  could  Britain 
oppress  any  nation  economically  as  long  as 
she  allowed  the  traders  of  all  nations  to 
compete  with  her  own  traders  upon  equal 
terms? 

"  Further,  if  Britain  had  planned  a  com- 
mercial war,  is  it  likely  that  she  would  have 
been  caught  unprepared?  How  unprepared 
she  was  all  the  world  knows.  Britain  had 
no  motive  for  taking  up  arms  beyond  the 
saving  of  Belgium  and  the  assertion  of  the 
right  of  all  peoples  to  develop  freely  and 
securely  as  they  desire,  except  the  motive 
which  led  her  to  fight  Philip  of  Spain  and 
the  Spanish  Armada  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, and  that  which  made  her  the  leader  of 
the  nations  in  the  struggle  against  the  at- 


A  MESSAGE   TO  AMERICA     395 

tempt  of  Napoleon  to  become  the  master 
of  Europe  in  the  early  eighteen  hundreds. 
She  saw  that  she  must  fight  for  her  life,  for 
the  security  of  her  communications,  which 
are  the  arteries  carrying  her  life  blood. 
'  The  war/  Sir  Robert  Borden  said  in  New 
York  last  year,  '  has  taught  us  two  things. 
First,  that  the  liberty,  the  security,  and  the 
free  existence  of  the  British  Empire  are  de- 
pendent upon  the  safety  of  the  ocean  path- 
ways, whether  in  peace  or  war;  next,  that 
sea  power  is  the  most  powerful  instrument 
by  which  world  domination  can  be  effectually 
crushed.' 

'  The  peoples  of  the  British  Empire  did 
not  want  war.  They  had  nothing  to  gain 
from  war.  They  were  threatened.  They 
were  attacked.  Whether  Prussia  had  in- 
vaded Belgium  or  not,  Britain  would  have 
been  obliged  to  fight  in  self-defense.  It  was 
not  Brussels  that  the  Germans  wanted  when 
'  for  strategic  reasons  '  they  marched  their 
troops  across  the  Belgian  frontier  which  they 
had  signed  a  solemn  treaty  to  respect.  They 
wanted  Antwerp,  which  Napoleon  called, 
with  clear-sighted  understanding,  '  a  pistol 
pointed  at  the  head  of  England.'  They 


396 NORTHCLIFFE 

wanted  an  outlet  for  their  ocean-going  sub- 
marines. They  wanted  Calais." 

In  spite  of  governmental  watchfulness, 
the  evil  effects  of  German  propaganda  have 
been  experienced  in  England  and  France. 
This  possibly  explains  why  certain  miscon- 
ceptions regarding  the  causes  of  the  war  still 
exist  in  both  countries.  "  A  number  of 
English  people  still  fancy,"  said  Lord  North- 
cliff  e,  "  that  Britain  could  have  kept  out  of 
the  conflict  if  Belgium  had  not  been  in- 
vaded. These  people  cannot  understand 
that  Prussia's  object  in  forcing  war  upon 
France  and  Russia  was  to  clear  them  out 
of  the  way  and  be  able  to  attack  England 
and,  in  course  of  time,  the  United  States, 
with  a  good  prospect  of  success,  later  on.  I 
have  even  heard  French  people  speak  as  if 
France  took  up  arms  to  regain  Alsace  and 
Lorraine,  whereas  we  know  that  France 
would  never  have  brought  upon  the  world 
the  frightful  calamity  of  war  for  selfish 
aims." 

As  to  the  motive  which  impelled  Russia 
to  enter  the  war,  that  country,  as  Lord 
Northcliffe  explained,  could  not  be  accused 
of  having  had  commercial  ambitions.  Al- 


A  MESSAGE   TO   AMERICA     397 

most  all  the  commerce  that  Russia  possessed 
had  been  in  German  hands  for  many  years. 
"  Russia,"  said  Lord  Northcliffe,  "  was 
goaded  into  mobilizing  her  armies  by  the 
attempt  of  Prussia  and  Austria  to  establish 
German  influence  in  the  Balkans:  to  insult 
and  injure  Russia  by  showing  that  she  could 
not  save  her  Slav  brethren,  the  Serbs,  from 
being  crushed  out  of  existence  as  a  free 
nation.  It  would  be  just  as  stupid  to  sug- 
gest that  France  made  war  for  commercial 
aggrandizement.  France  stood  by  her  ally, 
Russia,  as  she  had  bound  herself  to  do  by 
a  '  scrap  of  paper.'  France  is  an  honor- 
able country.  Her  people  keep  their  en- 
gagements. If  France  now  asks  for  the 
return  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  it  is  because 
she  desires  a  guarantee  against  further 
Prussian  aggression  and  because  the  popula- 
tions are  in  favor  of  French  instead  of  Ger- 
man rule." 

In  summing  up  the  reasons  which  com- 
pelled the  United  States  to  enter  the  war, 
Lord  Northcliffe  referred  to  the  fact  that 
German  scientists  had,  for  many  years,  per- 
sistently spread  the  idea  that  Germans  were 
supermen,  a  chosen  race,  and  that  it  was 


398  NORTHCLIFFE 

necessary  for  the  progress  of  humanity  that 
they  should  impose  their  will  upon  the  rest 
of  the  world.  "  German  intelligence,"  he 
remarked,  "  was  devoted  to  this  object,  and 
no  scruple  about  honor  or  pity  was  to  be 
allowed  to  stand  in  the  way.  Every  means 
to  victory  was  to  be  used,  without  caring  how 
brutal  and  devilish  it  might  be.  'We  are/ 
it  was  declared,  '  the  most  advanced,  most 
efficient  nation;  therefore  we  are  meant  to 
crush  out  the  less  advanced.  That  is  our 
idea  of  progress.' 

"  Such  an  idea,  however,  the  United 
States  could  not  accept  or  tolerate.  This 
country  refused  to  accept  Kaiser  Wilhelm's 
insulting  boast  to  Ambassador  Gerard  in 
Berlin:  '  There  is  no  international  law  now.' 
He  meant  that  Germany  had  done  away 
with  it.  She  claimed  to  have  put  her  will 
in  place  of  law. 

"  If  a  ruffian  stood  in  the  street  and  de- 
clared :  '  There  is  no  law  now.  I  have  abol- 
ished it.  I  will  kill  any  one  who  comes  this 
way  without  groveling  to  me  for  permis- 
sion/ would  American  citizens  say:  '  Oh, 
very  well,  we  must  do  as  you  think  fit '  ? 
No,  American  citizens  would  very  quickly 


A  MESSAGE   TO  AMERICA     399 

have  that  ruffian  out  of  the  way,  either 
locked  up  or  buried  with  holes  through  him. 
That,  I  think,  would  be  the  attitude  of 
Americans  as  individuals,  and  the  attitude 
of  the  nation  is  the  same  towards  the  ruf- 
fianly attempt  of  the  Hohenzollern  party  to 
substitute  their  will  for  the  law  of  nations 
and  to  '  bulldoze  '  the  United  States. 

"  Prussia,  in  the  course  of  her  savage  and 
criminal  rage,  injured  the  United  States, 
and  added  insult  to  injury  by  telling  Amer- 
ican citizens  that  if  they  did  not  want  to  be 
injured  further  they  must  keep  out  of  the 
way,  and  only  move  about,  by  kind  permis- 
sion of  the  Kaiser,  where  Germany  was 
pleased  to  let  them  go.  It  was  because  of 
this  that  the  United  States  declared  war 
upon  the  Central  Empires.  If  this  country 
had  meant  to  take  up  arms  in  defense  of 
British  or  French  interests,  or  in  the  inter- 
ests of  Belgium,  or  in  order  to  spread 
democracy,  it  would  not  have  waited  until 
April,  1917.  If  its  aims  had  been  commer- 
cial, it  would  have  been  in  the  war  long  ago. 
The  motive  which  brought  the  United  States 
in  was  not  sympathy  with  any  other  nation, 
was  not  desire  for  gain,  was  not  an  abstract 


400  NORTHCLIFFE 

fondness  for  democratic  as  opposed  to  auto- 
cratic government;  it  was  self-interest,  self- 
preservation,  self-respect.  The  American 
people  are  not  fighting  to  make  the  world 
safe  for  democracy,  but  to  make  the  world 
safe  for  themselves. 

"  For  this  cause  American  armies  are  be- 
ing sent  to  France.  That  is  where  the 
enemy  of  the  world's  peace  must  be  brought 
to  book.  Mayor  Thompson  of  Chicago  is 
reported  as  having  said,  '  I  do  not  believe  in 
sending  our  youths  to  the  trenches  of  Eu- 
rope instead  of  providing  an  adequate  army 
to  prevent  home  invasion.'  The  war  can  be 
ended,  the  world  can  be  made  safe  for  us 
all  to  live  in,  only  by  fighting  the  Germans 
where  they  are.  History  shows  that  all  na- 
tions which  have  waited  to  be  attacked  have 
suffered  in  consequence.  Ask  any  French- 
man whether  he  thinks  it  an  advantage  to 
France  that  the  war  is  raging  on  French 
soil.  There  could  be  only  one  answer  to 
such  a  foolish  question.  The  American 
army  must  fight  the  Germans  in  Europe 
in  order  to  prevent  them  from  bringing  the 
war  to  the  United  States. 

"  The  task  which  the  United  States  has 


A  MESSAGE   TO  AMERICA     401 

taken  up  in  consequence  of  the  Prussian  at- 
tack upon  its  sovereign  rights  is  the  task  of 
throwing  into  the  scale  the  last  weight  which 
will  turn  it  against  Germany.  That  task 
may  be  summed  up  in  the  three  F's — Feed, 
Finance,  Finish.  When  there  are  two  mil- 
lion American  troops,  which  put  Right  be- 
fore Might,  facing  the  common  foe  of  all 
nations,  the  Finish  of  the  war  will  be  at 
hand.  The  world  looks  to  American  initia- 
tive, enterprise,  and  innate  love  of  freedom 
to  put  an  end,  let  us  hope  for  all  time,  to 
an  attempt  to  tyrannize,  unprecedented  in 
history." 

In  Lord  Northcliffe's  opinion  it  has  been 
difficult  to  arouse  the  American  public  to 
the  gravity  of  the  war  because  the  fighting 
line  is  so  far  away.  Certain  hardships,  re- 
sulting from  war  conditions,  have  been  ex- 
perienced in  the  United  States,  but  no  actual 
suffering.  In  discussing  this  subject  Lord 
Northcliffe  said:  "People  in  America  read 
about  the  wonderful  victories  of  the  Allies 
and  the  sinking  of  hundreds  of  German  sub- 
marines; they  are  told  that  Germany  is  on 
the  point  of  starvation.  Most  of  these 
stories  are  untrue,  but  they  believe  all  of 


402  NORTHCLIFFE 

them.  It  is  impossible  for  the  American 
people  to  realize  what  war  actually  is,  be- 
cause they  are  so  far  away  from  it.  They 
have  not  seen  wounded  soldiers  coming  back, 
and  they  have  not  had  their  homes  destroyed 
by  aeroplanes.  They  cannot  understand  such 
things  until  they  are  brought  home  to  them." 

The  same  is  undoubtedly  true  of  the  re- 
ports of  German  atrocities,  which  lose  much 
of  their  effect  in  traveling  three  thousand 
miles.  Being  far  removed  from  the  war 
zone,  and  having  no  visible  evidence  of  the 
horrors  of  war  as  waged  by  the  Germans, — 
the  massacres  of  women  and  children,  the 
maiming  and  murdering  of  male  civilians, 
the  enslavement  of  whole  populations  of 
non-combatants,  the  systematic  starvation  of 
prisoners,  the  ravaging  of  towns  and  coun- 
tries,— it  is  difficult  for  the  great  mass  of  the 
American  people  to  grasp  the  full  signifi- 
cance of  these  terrible  happenings.  As  an 
observer  Lord  Northcliffe  was  much  im- 
pressed by  this  fact. 

The  people  of  the  United  States,  as  a 
well-known  American  war  correspondent  has 
remarked,  do  not  seem  to  understand  the 
difference  between  the  treacherous,  brutal- 


A  MESSAGE   TO  AMERICA     403 

ized  German  soldier  of  reality  and  the  in- 
offensive German  of  popular  imagination. 
"  The  French  and  English,"  says  this  writer, 
"  are  not  fighting  the  Hohenzollerns.  They 
are  fighting  the  Germans.  They  have  been 
at  it  a  long  time,  and  they  ought  to  know 
them.  When  will  Americans  begin  to  be- 
lieve what  those  who  have  been  fighting  the 
Germans  over  three  years  tell  them?  How 
long  will  they  continue  to  believe  that  the 
German  is  not  what  he  is,  but  what  they 
think  he  ought  to  be?  That  is  to  say,  what 
he  used  to  be." 

Having  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  in- 
sidious methods  of  German  propaganda, 
Lord  Northcliffe  warned  Americans  to  be 
on  guard  against  this  treacherous  and  dan- 
gerous force  which  has  been  so  persistently 
employed.  As  is  well  known,  since  the  pres- 
ent atrocious  conflict  was  forced  upon  the 
world  by  the  Prussianized  Germans  they 
have  won  more  by  deceit  than  by  arms.  The 
treachery,  bribing,  propaganda,  and  whole- 
sale corruption  which  led  to  the  collapse  of 
Russia  have  been  practiced,  on  a  less  gigan- 
tic scale,  in  other  countries.  Prior  to  April, 
1917,  the  pro-German  movements,  with  their 


404  NORTHCLIFFE 

misrepresentations  and  distortion  of  facts, 
which  were  carried  on  in  the  United  States 
constituted  a  national  menace. 

This  method  of  warfare  is  not  of  recent 
origin,  however.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  many 
years  before  the  war  almost  every  country 
had  been  gathered  into  the  meshes  of  the 
German  secret  service.  In  some  countries 
newspapers  were  subsidized  to  create  pro- 
German  feeling,  revolutionary  societies 
were  supported,  strikes  were  fomented,  and 
criminals  of  the  lowest  type  were  enlisted  to 
commit  murder  and  arson  whenever  it  be- 
came necessary  for  the  Kaiser's  government 
to  strike  a  blow.  The  work  of  spies  and 
propagandists  in  the  United  States  proved 
conclusively  that  Germany  had  for  years 
been  preparing  for  the  possibility  of  war 
with  this  country.  As  investigations  dis- 
closed, the  German  ambassador  at  Wash- 
ington had  been  supplied  with  large  funds 
for  the  payment  of  secret  agents  commis- 
sioned to  blow  up  ships  and  munition  plants. 
In  addition,  support  was  given  to  opposers 
of  conscription  and  to  emissaries  of  the  I. 
W.  W.,  engaged  in  precipitating  strikes  in 
mines  and  factories.  President  Wilson  is  on 


A  MESSAGE  TO  AMERICA     405 

record  to  the  effect  that  scores  of  American 
citizens,  while  the  United  States  was  at 
peace  with  Germany,  were  killed  by  mur- 
derers in  the  employ  of  the  German  gov- 
ernment. 

In  one  of  his  speeches  Lord  Northcliffe 
asserted  that  before  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  German  intrigue  had  been  at  work  in 
England.  "  Many  Germans,"  he  said, 
"  were  then  holding  high  positions  in  the 
United  Kingdom,  such  as  mayors  of  towns, 
and  we  were  amazed  to  discover  that  they 
had  been  working  against  us  for  years. 
They  had  provided  Berlin  with  valuable  in- 
formation. Like  yourselves,  however,  we 
were  an  unsuspicious  people,  and  it  took  us 
some  time  to  realize  what  these  treacherous 
enemies  were  doing.  Nor  could  we  conceive 
that  the  German  ambassador,  whom  we  sup- 
posed to  be  a  high-minded,  honorable  gen- 
tleman, would  busy  himself  with  schemes  of 
revolution,  arrange  for  the  burning  of  our 
munition  factories,  and  concoct  other  plots, 
when  he  should  have  been  trying  to 
straighten  out  affairs  between  our  country 
and  his  own." 

That  it  is  difficult  to  cope  with  the  in- 


406  NORTHCLIFFE 

tricate  German  spy  system  Lord  Northcliffe 
frankly  admits.  He  believes  that  a  large 
amount  of  information  has  been  sent  to 
Germany  in  apparently  innocent  cable  mes- 
sages addressed  to  business  houses  in  neu- 
tral countries.  Such  messages  can  give  news 
of  departing  transports  and  other  ships  in 
order  that  they  may  be  attacked  by  sub- 
marines. "  Outgoing  cables,"  he  says, 
"should  be  closely  watched.  It  was  only 
by  checking  back  cables  to  neutral  coun- 
tries that  we  succeeded  in  catching  some  of 
our  spies. 

"  I  don't  know  whether  the  United  States 
government  has  an  alert  censorship  on  let- 
ters and  cable  messages  to  Spain,  but  I 
venture  to  think  that  if  this  is  not  the  case 
and  a  censorship  is  installed,  a  large  amount 
of  secret  information  might  be  detected.  I 
would  also  point  out  that  newspaper  illus- 
trations may  easily  convey  dangerous  in- 
formation. The  Germans  have  a  system  of 
enlarging  newspaper  pictures  to  see  if  they 
can  get  any  useful  ideas  from  them.  For 
that  reason  no  picture  of  any  new  tank, 
aeroplane,  or  other  war  machine  should  be 
published." 


A  MESSAGE  TO  AMERICA     407 

Lord  Northcliffe  has  been  surprised  by 
the  quickness  with  which  the  Germans  ascer- 
tain what  is  going  on  in  opposing  countries. 
For  instance,  they  flood  Spain  and  other 
neutral  nations  with  false  reports  that  im- 
mediately minimize  any  statements  made  by 
the  Allies,  and  contradict  such  statements 
with  a  celerity  that  is  amazing.  He  asked 
Commendatore  Marconi  if  it  were  possible 
that  the  Germans  might  have  a  wireless 
plant  concealed  somewhere  in  England. 
The  Italian  inventor  replied  that  it  would 
be  quite  possible,  and  that  he  himself  would 
be  able  to  erect  a  wireless  plant  in  Eng- 
land that  the  authorities  would  have  great 
trouble  in  discovering. 

Like  other  far-seeing  public  men,  Lord 
Northcliffe  has  always  opposed  an  incon- 
clusive peace,  realizing  that  the  German 
people,  who  have  given  strong  support  to 
the  Kaiser's  iniquitous  war  policy,  cannot  be 
induced  to  change  their  views  until  they  are 
effectually  defeated.  It  would,  moreover, 
be  impossible  to  trust  a  government  that 
holds  no  word  sacred,  and  that  has  been  con- 
stantly busy  concocting  lies,  fomenting  con- 


408  NORTHCLIFFE 

spiracles,  and  poisoning  the  thought  of  the 
world. 

In  answer  to  the  question,  "  How  long 
will  the  war  last? "  Lord  Northcliffe  re- 
plied: "I  see  no  reason  to  expect  a  short 
war.  Of  course,  we  could  have  peace  to- 
morrow, but  it  would  be  a  short  peace,  and 
would  mean  a  more  terrible  war  than  we 
are  having,  for  you  can  rest  assured  that  the 
Germans  would  not  make  the  mistake  they 
made  in  this  instance  of  having  so  many  na- 
tions against  them.  As  a  great  Scandi- 
navian said:  'Beat  Germany  this  time,  for 
if  you  do  not  she  will  beat  you.'  We  are 
fighting  for  the  permanent  peace  of  the 
world  and  freedom  for  each  nation.  Presi- 
dent Wilson  is  the  inspired  prophet  of  this 
dispensation." 

In  spite  of  what  has  been  said  to  the  con- 
trary, Lord  Northcliffe  does  not  believe  that 
any  army  raised  and  trained  in  a  time  of 
emergency  can  at  once  compete  on  equal 
terms  with  troops  that  have  been  equipped, 
organized,  and  drilled  in  the  course  of  years. 
For  that  reason  he  has  never  underrated 
German  military  strength.  "  The  Ger- 
mans," he  says,  "  have  been  educated  for 


A  MESSAGE   TO  AMERICA     409 

war  and  trained  in  military  tactics  for  more 
than  a  generation;  they  have  given  their 
lives  to  this  cause.  There  is  nothing  wrong 
about  their  war  machine.  Therefore,  to  sup- 
pose that  people  who  are  untrained  and  un- 
prepared for  war  can  conquer  the  Germans 
in  a  short  time  is  the  height  of  folly." 

In  a  speech  before  the  House  of  Com- 
mons Sir  Auckland  Geddes,  who  is  at  the 
head  of  the  department  of  national  service, 
declared  that  armies  in  these  days  are  some- 
thing more  than  men  in  the  field.  An  army, 
as  he  explained,  is  now  a  body  of  experts 
handling  the  most  wonderful  machines, 
guns,  mortars,  aeroplanes,  telephones,  elec- 
tric lights,  gas,  and  a  myriad  of  other  things. 
All  this  equipment  must  be  transported  to 
the  front,  with  hundreds  of  tons  of  shells, 
bombs,  and  high  explosives.  There  is  also  a 
vast  area  of  rearwards  services,  extending 
from  the  mines  through  the  factories  along 
the  lines  of  communication  right  to  the  hands 
of  the  men  who  use  the  weapons. 

Lord  Northcliffe  repeatedly  emphasized 
this  fact  in  his  articles  and  speeches.  In 
addressing  the  Western  editors  he  pointed 
out  that  war  to-day  is  entirely  different 


410  NORTHCLIFFE 

from  what  it  was  in  the  past.  "  Formerly 
it  was  showy,  dramatic,  emotional;  now  it 
is  none  of  these  things.  The  present  war 
is  a  very  different  proceeding  from  old-time 
warfare,  when  men  enlisted,  shouldered  their 
rifles,  and  marched  to  battle.  In  this  war 
the  farmer,  the  miller,  the  butcher,  and  the 
men  in  the  munition  factory  are  just  as  im- 
portant as  the  soldier.  War,  in  fact,  has 
become  in  part  a  vast  business  enterprise. 
In  preparing  a  new  army  to  fight  the 
Germans  it  is  just  as  if  a  party  of  amateur 
journalists  should  go  to  a  big  American  city 
with  a  few  presses  to  run  a  newspaper  in 
competition  with  an  old  established  daily. 
You  are  amateurs  in  the  game  of  war,  more 
so  than  we  are,  because  we  have  had  three 
years  of  practice.  We  began  this  war  with 
almost  no  army  at  all.  Great  Britain  under- 
estimated the  job  at  the  beginning  and  went 
to  war  unprepared,  as  the  United  States  has 
done.  England,  however,  paid  dearly  for 
the  mistake." 

As  the  result  of  Britain's  experience,  Lord 
Northcliffe  is  convinced  that  conscription  is 
the  only  democratic  method  of  raising  an 
effective  army.  "  The  draft  system,"  he 


A  MESSAGE  TO  AMERICA     411 

says,  "  is  the  only  one  for  a  democratic 
nation.  We  thought  the  only  democratic 
system  was  to  take  those  who  hy  their  en- 
thusiasm volunteered  and  went  to  war,  but 
we  soon  discovered  that  was  a  mistake.  We 
found  that  while  the  patriot  went  to  war, 
the  unpatriotic  man  stayed  behind  and  stole 
the  patriot's  living.  We  had  an  absurd 
slogan,  '  One  volunteer  is  worth  three 
pressed  men.'  It  sounded  well,  but  it  was 
not  true.  When  we  adopted  the  draft  we 
found  that  the  drafted  men  fought  just  as 
well  as  the  volunteers.  There  is  the  same 
spirit  of  brotherhood  among  soldiers.  The 
drafted  men  are  received  in  the  same  spirit 
as  those  who  enlisted  of  their  own  free  will." 

By  means  of  conscription,  as  Lord  North- 
cliffe  pointed  out,  the  United  States  will 
eventually  have  a  formidable  army,  and  al- 
though the  Kaiser  sneered  at  "the  con- 
temptible British  army,"  and  has  scoffed  at 
the  idea  of  American  participation  in  the 
war,  he  will  find  that,  when  the  decisive 
struggle  comes,  the  armies  of  democracy  are 
more  than  a  match  for  the  German  machine. 

In  explaining  why  he  had  been  impelled 
to  speak  frankly  when  addressing  American 


412  NORTHCLIFFE 

audiences  in  regard  to  the  war,  Lord  North- 
cliff  e  said:  "I  have  spoken  in  this  way  be- 
cause I  have  been  talking  to  friends.  We 
are  banded  together  by  a  feeling  of  brother- 
hood, and  we  should  plan  and  work  together 
in  order  to  win  this  war.  No  one  has  a 
better  or  clearer  idea  of  the  infinitely  diffi- 
cult task  before  us  than  I  have.  I  know, 
moreover,  how  difficult  it  is  to  deal  with 
prosperous  people — they  are  so  optimistic. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  war  it  was  much 
the  same  in  England. 

"  The  British  race  is  like  the  American, 
anti-militaristic.  It  is  even  anti-authority. 
It  is  therefore  the  antipode  of  the  German, 
whose  government  embodies  authority  more 
completely  than  any  other  in  the  world. 
The  British  idea  is  solid  opposition  to  the 
principle  of  unrestricted  authority.  The 
American  Revolution,  like  Magna  Charta, 
forms  a  milestone  in  its  development.  I 
am  impressed  by  this  fact  as  I  travel  in  the 
United  States.  I  find  that  your  country 
is  very  similar  to  our  country,  that  your 
people  are  very  similar  to  our  own  people. 
Here  the  people  rule,  and  it  is  the  same  in 
Britain.  You  hated  an  army,  and  so  did 


A  MESSAGE   TO   AMERICA     413 

we.  Being  opposed  to  war,  we  did  not  have 
an  army,  and  it  was  the  same  in  your  case. 
I  hope  and  pray,  however,  that  we  shall 
never  have  another  war,  and  I  believe  that  if 
we  keep  together  when  the  soldiers  come 
back  and  conditions  are  adjusted,  we  shall 
have  a  continued  peace;  for  the  people  will 
see  to  it  that  nothing  like  this  shall  happen 
again  as  long  as  they  live." 

One  of  the  greatest  statesmen  in  England 
has  declared  that  the  destiny  of  the  world 
depends  to  a  great  extent  upon  how  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain  act  toward 
each  other  when  the  war  is  over.  They  can 
be  keen  trade  rivals  and  compete  to  the 
limit,  as  they  probably  will.  But  between 
the  two  great  English-speaking  peoples,  he 
says,  there  should  be  coordination  and  under- 
standing. It  should  be  their  duty  to  police 
the  world  and  make  it  free  not  only  for 
democracy  but  for  trade.  Lord  Northcliffe 
takes  the  same  view.  "  As  the  result  of  the 
war,"  he  says,  "  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  have  been  brought  very  close  to- 
gether. If  we  two  peoples  keep  together  we 
can,  I  am  sure,  see  that  there  is  never  an- 
other war." 


414  NORTHCLIFFE 

That  there  is  a  silver  lining  to  the  war 
cloud  Lord  Northcliffe  has  perceived.  In 
an  impressive  address,  in  which  he  dealt  with 
this  aspect  of  the  war,  he  said :  "  After  all 
the  harm  that  Germany  has  done  to  the 
world  by  forcing  it  into  this  war,  we  may 
gain  a  grain  of  comfort  if  we  glance  at  the 
other  side  of  the  account.  The  war  has 
brought  the  Allied  nations  together  as  never 
before;  mistrust  and  animosities  have  been 
swept  away  and  forgotten,  and  we  stand 
together  as  a  band  of  brothers  and 
sisters. 

"  Unintentionally,  Germany  has  taught  us 
a  higher  meaning  of  duty,  of  patriotism,  and 
the  sacrifices  they  entail.  Having  to  face 
peril,  suffering,  death  itself,  we  have  reacted 
from  superficial  things,  feelings,  thoughts 
even,  and  live  our  lives  among  the  realities, 
sterner,  harsher,  more  primitive  perhaps,  but 
infinitely  more  important  in  the  right  con- 
duct of  existence.  We  are  living  in  a  great 
age.  Romance  has  been  restored  to  us. 
Men  die  'for  Belgium,'  *  f  or  Italy,'  'for 
France,'  '  for  England,'  '  for  America,'  lit- 
erally day  by  day,  these  heroes,  these  pala- 
dins of  ours.  May  we  not  believe  that  this 


A  MESSAGE  TO  AMERICA     415 

kinship  of  the  battle  line,  where  men  of 
widely  different  races  have  stood  shoulder 
to  shoulder  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  is  des- 
tined to  endure? " 


XIV 
WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS 

IN  judging  a  man,  it  has  been  said,  the 
only  right  course  is  to  ask :  "  What  effect 
has  his  life,  taken  as  a  whole,  had  on  the 
world?"  To  pick  out  samples  here  and 
there  and  hold  them  up  does  not  show  us  the 
man  any  more  than  a  block  of  stone  would 
give  an  idea  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington. 
So  in  viewing  the  career  of  Viscount  North- 
cliffe,  from  his  youthful  days  when  he 
started  his  first  paper,  to  the  man  as  we  be- 
hold him  now,  the  net  results  must  be  con- 
sidered. If  that  be  done,  we  are  compelled 
to  acknowledge  his  genius,  originality,  use- 
fulness, and  power. 

That  Northcliffe  has  more  than  an  average 
proportion  of  enemies  and  detractors,  that 
he  has  been  misunderstood  and  misrepre- 
sented, is  admitted.  Even  his  remarkable 
success  and  swift  rise  to  eminence  and  influ- 
ence have  served  to  create  enmity.  Success 

416 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS    417 

in  others  is  apt  to  sour  those  who  have  failed 
to  achieve  success  themselves,  and  frequently 
it  begets  opposition  that  is  cruel  and  unjust. 

Northcliffe's  fault,  if  fault  it  be,  is  that 
he  has  succeeded  too  well.  Success  is  a 
hard  thing  for  some  people  to  forgive;  per- 
sonality repels  as  well  as  attracts.  It  is 
enough  for  a  man  to  have  distinction  and 
brains  for  every  malicious  tongue  to  wag 
against  him.  Nbrthcliffe  has  been  a  trail- 
maker,  and  for  that  reason  he  is  not  under- 
stood by  many  conservative  people  in  Eng- 
land who  shudder  at  every  startling  result  of 
social  progress  and  sigh  for  the  good  old 
times. 

In  the  career  of  Lord  Northcliffe,  how- 
ever, the  maxim,  "  To  foresee  is  to  rule," 
has  been  illustrated  repeatedly.  It  is  be- 
cause of  his  ability  to  sense  coming  events 
— the  highest  expression  of  journalistic 
genius — and  his  skill  in  meeting  new  condi- 
tions that  have  placed  him  in  the  front  rank 
of  British  public  life,  and  have  gained  for 
him  such  a  vast  following  that  in  comparison 
with  those  who  accept  his  views  and  believe 
in  him,  his  opponents  sink  into  insignifi- 
cance. 


418 NORTHCLIFFE 

In  attempting  to  forecast  what  the  future 
may  hold  for  Lord  Northcliffe  it  is  essen- 
tial to  bear  these  facts  in  mind,  and  to  con- 
sider what  scope  he  is  likely  to  find,  in  com- 
ing years,  for  his  originality,  his  energy,  and 
his  ability  to  deal  with  new  problems.  As 
we  look  to  the  future  it  is  easy  to  foresee 
that  such  talents  as  his  will  have  unprece- 
dented opportunities  for  their  exercise  in 
the  stupendous  work  that  lies  ahead.  Strong 
men  who  can  wisely  direct  the  efforts  of 
others  are  always  needed.  They  were 
needed  in  1915  when  Great  Britain  was 
struggling  against  muddling  inefficiency. 
They  will  be  needed  still  more  when  the 
war  comes  to  an  end  and  the  gigantic  work 
of  reconstruction  begins. 

When  that  time  comes  Great  Britain  will 
need  the  services  of  the  business  statesman 
of  Lord  Northcliffe's  caliber.  His  thorough 
knowledge  of  British  social  questions  and 
his  progressive  views  regarding  capital  and 
labor  and  the  upbuilding  of  foreign  trade, 
through  his  intimate  knowledge  of  foreign 
countries, — their  resources,  industries,  and 
business  conditions, — fit  him  to  become  a 
prominent  figure  in  the  momentous  delibera- 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS     419 

tions  which  must  follow  the  return  of  peace. 
What  Great  Britain  will  need  then  is 
not  professional  politicians,  but  hard-headed, 
sophisticated  business  experts,  familiar  with 
the  whole  world. 

That  Lord  Northcliffe,  more  than  any 
other  man  in  England,  has  the  power  to 
bring  about  important  reforms  and  accom- 
plish speedily  what  would  otherwise  require 
much  time  to  effect  has  been  admitted  by  no 
less  an  authority  than  Lloyd  George,  the 
prime  minister.  For  many  years  North- 
cliffe was  Lloyd  George's  most  bitter  critic. 
He  has  now  become  his  ally  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  British  Empire.  In  comment- 
ing on  this  fact,  a  recent  English  writer 
pointed  out  that  despite  the  differences  in 
their  outlook  on  life  there  are  wonderful 
resemblances  between  the  two  men.  There 
are  sympathies  too.  "  Northcliffe,"  the 
writer  observed,  "early  recognized  that 
Lloyd  George  was  a  person  to  be  watched, 
not  because  of  his  speeches,  but  because  he 
was  a  man  of  action.  On  one  occasion 
Lloyd  George,  in  speaking  of  Northcliffe, 
remarked :  '  What  a  power  this  man  can  be 
whenever  he  chooses !  He  can  carry  through 


420  NORTHCLIFFE 

a  political  project  while  we  are  thinking 
about  it.  We  talk  of  tackling  the  question 
of  housing  the  poor  people  of  this  country, 
for  instance.  He  could  do  it  single 
handed.' " 

When  the  stress  of  war  time  has  ended, 
Lord  Northcliffe  will  have  an  immense  field 
of  endeavor  in  which  to  exert  his  energies. 
He  has  been  of  immeasurable  service  to  his 
country  during  the  war,  but  great  as  his 
past  deeds  have  been  they  may  become 
of  secondary  importance  to  that  which 
he  is  likely  to  accomplish  in  coming 
years. 

Whatever  happens,  one  thing  is  certain, 
that  when  the  war  ends,  as  it  must  some 
day,  there  is  bound  to  be  a  staggering 
amount  of  political  and  industrial  disloca- 
tion in  which  Great  Britain,  among  other 
countries,  will  have  to  share.  The  war  has 
destroyed  wealth  beyond  precedent,  trade 
has  become  disorganized,  and  each  of  the 
combatant  powers  has  added  stupendous 
burdens  to  its  national  debt.  In  Britain, 
when  peace  returns,  great  questions  will 
crowd  upon  each  other  for  attention,  ques- 
tions of  domestic  and  foreign  policy,  of 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS     421 

social  and  industrial  reconstruction.  To 
meet  the  difficulties  imposed  by  the  war 
some  revolutionary  experiments  have  been 
made.  These  innovations  will  have  to  be 
carefully  and  dispassionately  surveyed  with 
a  view  to  deciding  whether  they  shall  be 
retained  or  discarded. 

To  deal  successfully  with  this  colossal 
work  of  reconstruction  new  methods  will  be 
required.  It  will  also  demand  administra- 
tive ability  of  the  highest  order.  For  the 
old  school  of  English  politicians  to  attempt 
to  grapple  with  it  would  be  a  hopeless  pro- 
ceeding. Here  it  is  that  Lord  Northcliffe 
seems  predestined  to  take  a  foremost  part. 
His  genius  in  foreseeing  the  approach  of 
new  conditions,  and  his  skill  in  solving  new 
problems,  which  have  made  him  the  greatest 
force  in  British  public  life  and  placed  him 
at  the  head  of  the  popular  current  of 
thought,  will  assuredly  enable  him  to  assist 
in  the  giant  task  of  restoring  prosperity  to 
his  war-worn  country. 

It  has  been  predicted  that  when  the  dust 
and  din  of  war  time  have  cleared  away  a 
new  era  will  dawn,  and  that  its  approach 
will  be  heralded  by  political  and  social 


422  NORTHCLIFFE 

changes  of  a  radical  nature.  In  England 
such  an  inspired  prophet  as  H.  G.  Wells 
foresees  the  advent  of  a  new  economic  sys- 
tem in  which  private  capitalism  will  eventu- 
ally disappear  and  government  ownership 
will  emerge.  In  his  recent  work,  "  What  Is 
Coming,"  he  has  given  the  reason  in  a  few 
words — "  Whereas  we  were  individualists," 
he  says,  "  now  we  are  socialists." 

Radical  leaders  of  the  people  in  Great 
Britain  are  bent  on  effecting  far  more  dras- 
tic changes  than  even  Mr.  Wells  foresees. 
They  declare  that  not  only  must  every  trace 
of  capitalism  be  obliterated,  but  the  whole 
social  fabric  must  be  reconstructed.  Class 
distinctions  must  be  abolished,  the  govern- 
ment must  be  remodeled,  and  the  working 
people  must  rule.  Opposed  to  these  radi- 
cals and  their  followers  are  the  conservative 
middle  and  upper  classes,  who  would  un- 
doubtedly prefer  to  see  "  Business  resumed 
as  before"  when  the  war  is  over. 

Always  closely  in  touch  with  public  feel- 
ing, and  glimpsing  future  events  by  pres- 
ent indications,  Lord  Northcliff e  has  already 
perceived  that  a  great  change  is  certain  to 
be  wrought  in  British  national  life.  Writ- 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS     423 

ing  on  this  subject  recently,  he  expressed 
some  startling  views. 

"  I  have  talked  with  our  soldiers  at  the 
front,"  he  said,  "  and  have  discovered  that 
they  have  strong  ideas  regarding  capital  and 
labor,  government,  education,  and  other 
questions  which  are  paramount  in  the  public 
mind  to-day.  After  the  war  two  million 
young  men  who  have  been  through  rough 
hell  for  their  country  will  require  better 
working  conditions  as  the  price  of  their 
sacrifice.  Just  as  Grant's  soldiers,  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  dominated 
elections  in  the  United  States  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century  after  the  Civil  War,  so  will  the 
men  I  have  seen  in  the  trenches  go  home  and 
demand  by  their  votes  the  reward  of  a 
changed  England,  an  England  that  is  likely 
to  be  as  much  of  a  surprise  to  the  present 
owners  of  capital  as  it  may  be  to  the  owners 
of  land.  As  the  result  of  this  change  there 
is  certain  to  be  a  great  social  development  in 
Britain.  Eventually  there  will  be  a  change 
in  the  wage  system.  The  rich  will  become 
poorer  and  the  poor  richer.  A  species  of 
state  socialism  seems  inevitable.  The  social- 
ism of  the  soldiers  is  not  of  that  irrespon- 


424  NORTHCLIFFE 

sible  type  which  is  nothing  but  anarchism, 
but  they  have  made  their  sacrifices  to  the 
uttermost,  and  when  they  return  they  will 
see  to  it  that  they  control  the  government." 

The  extent  to  which  British  industries 
and  labor  have  been  dislocated  by  the  war 
can  be  understood  when  it  is  explained  that 
four  million  men  from  all  ranks  of  life  are 
now  serving  in  the  British  army,  while  sev- 
eral millions  of  men  and  women  are  em- 
ployed in  the  government  munition  factories 
or  in  industries  subserving  war  purposes. 
A  large  proportion  of  the  latter  must  be 
got  back  to  employment  of  a  different  char- 
acter within  a  year  after  the  return  of  peace. 
Places  must  also  be  found  for  the  millions 
of  soldiers  who  will  return  to  civil  life. 

In  the  meantime  trade  has  been  crippled 
and  transportation  disorganized,  so  that  any 
attempt  to  resume  business  on  a  normal  basis 
would  result  in  chaos.  The  men  returning 
from  the  trenches,  as  Lord  Northcliffe  re- 
marks, will  feel  that  they  have  deserved  well 
of  their  country  and  will  not  be  inclined  to 
stand  any  nonsense  from  the  governing 
classes.  Many  of  them  will  have  been  in- 
fected with  radical  ideas  regarding  capital- 


ism  and  the  rights  of  labor.  Clear-headed 
statesmanship,  therefore,  will  be  needed  to 
avert  disaster. 

All  these  possibilities  have  been  plainly 
foreseen  by  Lord  Northcliffe,  and  in  his 
practical  manner  of  dealing  with  serious 
problems  he  has  urged  that  in  time  of  war 
preparations  should  be  made  for  the  re- 
adjustments of  peace.  Influenced  by  the 
arguments  of  his  newspapers,  which  had 
repeatedly  called  attention  to  this  important 
subject,  the  British  government  was  led  to 
appoint  a  Ministry  of  Reconstruction  under 
the  direction  of  the  Right  Honorable  Chris- 
topher Addison,  M.D.  This  board  is  now 
working  out  an  orderly  and  scientific  system 
of  rehabilitation.  Its  principal  object  is  to 
prevent  confusion  and  suffering  when  the 
war  has  ended,  by  readjusting  the  army  and 
war  machinery  to  peace  conditions. 

Dr.  Addison,  it  may  be  added,  is  one  of 
the  miracles  wrought  by  the  war.  Ten  years 
ago  he  was  professor  of  anatomy  at  Univer- 
sity College,  Sheffield.  Entering  Parlia- 
ment, he  sided  with  Lloyd  George  in  the 
great  reform  campaign  which  made  the  fa- 
mous Welshman's  career  as  Chancellor  of 


426  NORTHCLIFFE 

the  Exchequer  one  continuous  storm.  At 
that  time  Dr.  Addison  wrote  the  Health  In- 
surance Act  which  was  passed  by  Parlia- 
ment. He  showed  such  marked  ability  in 
other  directions  that  in  1915  he  became  one 
of  the  co-workers  with  Lloyd  George,  who 
was  then  Minister  of  Munitions.  When  his 
associate  ultimately  became  prime  minister, 
Dr.  Addison  succeeded  him  as  head  of  the 
munitions  department. 

Such  have  been  the  experiences  of  the 
former  doctor.  It  has  been  equaled  only  by 
the  career  of  Sir  Auckland  Geddes,  brother 
of  Sir  Eric  Geddes,  who  was  for  several 
years  professor  of  anatomy  at  McGill 
University,  Montreal,  and  afterwards  be- 
came Britain's  minister  for  national  serv- 
ice. With  the  same  degree  of  skill  that 
he  displayed  as  a  professor  of  anatomy  Dr. 
Addison  has  taken  up  the  gigantic  task  of 
business  reconstruction.  At  his  office  near 
Queen  Anne's  Gate  in  London  a  visitor  will 
find  the  whole  vast  scheme  of  readjusting 
finance,  labor,  and  demobilizing  men  and  in- 
dustry mapped  out  on  charts  with  every  task 
outlined,  each  department  having  a  staff  of 
statisticians  and  expert  investigators. 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS     427 

One  of  the  first  problems  that  will  have  to 
be  dealt  with  by  the  government  experts  is 
the  employment  of  a  large  proportion  of  the 
four  million  British  soldiers  who  will  be  dis- 
banded. According  to  present  plans,  men 
belonging  to  the  essential  industries  will  be 
rushed  home  immediately,  regard  being 
taken  as  to  whether  they  are  married  or 
single.  Soldiers  whose  places  have  been  re- 
served for  them  will  also  return.  There 
will  be  about  one  million  of  this  class.  Then 
the  other  classes  will  be  gradually  returned 
to  civil  life  and  set  at  work. 

Here  it  is  that  a  serious  difficulty  arises. 
It  will  be  impossible  for  most  of  these  work- 
ers to  return  to  their  former  occupations. 
Thousands  of  private  firms  which  were 
flourishing  in  1914  exist  to-day  only  as  names 
or  empty  shells.  Their  staffs  have  been  dis- 
persed, their  machinery  exchanged,  rebuilt, 
or  modified,  their  buildings  enlarged  or  taken 
over  by  the  government.  As  the  result  of 
the  government  having  embarked  in  the 
business  of  munition  making  on  a  gigantic 
scale,  there  are  more  than  four  thousand 
government-owned  factories  in  Britain. 

It  has  been  proposed  by  various  social- 


428  NORTHCLIFFE 

istic  writers  that  these  factories  shall  remain 
under  government  control  and  produce  com- 
modities urgently  needed.  The  same  plan, 
it  is  urged,  might  be  followed  to  some  extent 
with  shipbuilding.  Such  an  arrangement 
would  provide  immediate  employment  for 
disbanded  soldiers  and  also  for  large  num- 
bers of  workers  now  engaged  in  manufactur- 
ing war  supplies.  The  war  has  done  much 
to  increase  British  efficiency.  Thousands  of 
hitherto  untrained  men  are  able  to  use  lathe, 
drill,  and  engine.  An  equally  large  number 
of  women  have  been  trained  in  various 
crafts.  What  more  obvious  course,  it  is 
asked,  than  to  keep  the  government  plants 
in  operation,  manufacturing  such  things  as 
standardized  automobiles,  railway  equipment, 
electrical  supplies,  and  food  products? 

The  government,  it  is  argued,  must  con- 
tinue as  an  employer  on  a  vast  scale,  for  if 
the  national  factory  system  were  suddenly 
abandoned  the  risk  of  social  convulsion  would 
be  enormous.  On  the  other  hand,  by  keep- 
ing them  in  operation  England  would  be 
equipped  with  standardized  and  intensified 
machinery  capable  of  bringing  about  a  new 
era  of  trade  supremacy. 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS     429 

When  peace  returns  England  will  need 
labor-saving  devices  to  an  almost  incredible 
extent  if  a  new  and  scientific  England  is  to 
arise  out  of  the  ruins  of  warfare.  The  ar- 
senals that  have  made  shells  can  make  type- 
writers, adding  machines,  cash  registers,  and 
other  time-savers,  and  they  may  possibly  do 
so.  In  the  production  of  raw  materials,  in 
industrial  research,  in  the  promotion  of  effi- 
ciency and  the  upbuilding  of  foreign  trade, 
the  men  of  the  reconstruction  ministry  are 
determined  that  England  shall  take  the  lead. 

Arrangements  are  being  made  for  an  all- 
British  production  of  sugar,  rubber,  metals, 
chemicals,  cereals,  cotton,  wool,  jute,  etc. 
Great  Britain  and  her  Allies,  including  the 
United  States,  control  four  fifths  of  the  raw 
materials  of  the  world.  This  important  asset 
will  be  one  of  the  strongest  arguments  in  the 
readjustments  of  peace.  To  a  great  extent 
it  will  offset  the  bargaining  value  of  the  land 
the  Germans  have  seized  and  ravaged.  It 
also  guarantees  a  new  economic  freedom. 

Among  other  proposals  for  making  over 
Britain  is  a  scheme  for  supplying  British 
factories  with  electric  power  from  sixteen 
stations,  and  thus  saving  fifty-five  million 


430  NORTHCLIFFE 

tons  of  coal  yearly.  This,  in  turn,  would 
release  a  host  of  men  employed  in  the  mines 
and  enable  them  to  take  up  other  work.  It 
is  realized  that  if  England  is  to  compete  in- 
dustrially with  the  rest  of  the  world,  she 
must  have  efficient  tools,  and  more  power  is 
one  of  them. 

In  spite  of  the  government's  efforts  to 
readjust  after-war  conditions,  the  British 
radicals  are  not  satisfied  and  are  clamoring 
for  a  complete  sweeping  away  of  the  capi- 
talistic system.  These  revolutionary  ideas 
have  permeated  the  working  classes  to  some 
extent.  They  were  much  in  evidence  at  a 
recent  important  labor  meeting.  On  that 
occasion  resolutions  were  presented,  demand- 
ing the  abolition  of  the  wage  system  and  a 
general  conscription  of  wealth,  one  proposal 
being  that  all  private  funds  amounting  to 
over  a  thousand  pounds  should  be  seized. 

While  it  is  true  that  these  resolutions  were 
rejected,  and  that  the  leaders  of  the  British 
Labor  party  have  been  moderate  in  their 
views,  still  this  aspect  of  the  situation  is  dis- 
quieting because  in  these  unsettled  times 
revolutionary  doctrines  are  apt  to  spread. 
The  Labor  party,  it  may  be  added,  has  forty 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS    431 

members  in  the  House  of  Commons  and  is 
likely  to  get  a  still  larger  representation. 
Some  English  writers  predict  that  before 
long  the  party  will  control  Parliament,  and 
once  in  control  its  power  is  not  likely  to  be 
relinquished. 

The  British  Labor  party,  it  should  be  ex- 
plained, consists  of  trade-unions,  labor  or- 
ganizations of  various  kinds,  and  several 
socialistic  groups.  Membership  is  by  groups, 
not  by  individuals.  At  the  present  time  the 
party  is  in  process  of  reconstruction  to  admit 
individuals  and  also  to  admit  "  brain  work- 
ers." The  "  brain  and  hand  movement,"  as 
it  is  termed,  is  intended  to  enroll  professional 
men  and  other  intellectual  workers  in  the 
labor  movement,  and  men  of  this  class  are 
entering  the  labor  organizations  in  large 
numbers.  With  these  acquisitions,  it  begins 
to  look  as  if  the  British  Labor  party  will 
soon  be  what  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor  would  be  if  it  included  practically  all 
the  labor  organizations  of  the  country  and 
in  addition  the  medical  societies,  law  asso- 
ciations, engineering  societies,  and  the  Au- 
thors* League.  In  other  words,  the  Labor 
party  seeks  to  enroll  all  radicals  and  to  form 


432  NORTHCLIFFE 

a  new  British  party  of  democracy  which  will 
gain  control  of  the  government. 

The  Socialist  groups  of  the  British  Labor 
party  are  extremists  and  ardent  pacifists. 
They  have  expressed  warm  admiration  for 
the  Bolsheviki  and  the  criminal  fanatics 
who  caused  the  collapse  of  Russia.  Fortu- 
nately this  section  is  far  in  the  minority, 
numbering  only  some  thousands,  while  the 
saner  membership  runs  into  millions.  But 
whenever  the  party  as  a  whole  has  a  special 
grievance  it  seems  to  give  the  extremists 
the  lead,  and  they  lose  no  opportunity  to 
indulge  in  revolutionary  sentiments.  It  is 
quite  probable,  however,  that  as  the  result  of 
the  upheavals  caused  by  the  war  a  new 
democracy  will  emerge  in  England,  recogniz- 
ing no  privileged  class,  not  even  a  labor  or 
even  a  male  class. 

Some  idea  of  the  aims  of  the  Labor  party 
can  be  gathered  from  its  programme  for 
reconstruction,  which  was  recently  drawn 
up  by  a  sub-committee.  It  visualizes,  as 
no  American  party  platform  hitherto  con- 
structed has  done,  the  vital  subjects  of 
political  and  economic  unrest  which  are  grip- 
ping the  world  to-day.  Some  of  the  things 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS     433 

which  this  remarkable  document  contains  are 
not  pertinent  to  the  American  political  situ- 
ation, but  nevertheless  it  is  worth  the  atten- 
tion of  everyone,  not  only  because  of  its 
clearness  of  expression,  but  also  because 
there  is  every  prospect  that  in  the  near  future 
the  Labor  party  will  become  the  dominant 
power  in  the  British  Parliament,  and  there- 
fore in  the  government. 

In  this  document  the  leaders  of  the  party 
have  described,  with  remarkable  warmth,  the 
struggles  and  sufferings  of  the  laboring 
classes  in  Great  Britain.  They  outline  the 
failures  and  successes  of  the  labor  movement, 
and  point  with  remarkable  penetration  to 
the  future  aspirations  of  the  masses  of  mod- 
erately circumstanced  people  in  the  United 
Kingdom. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Labor  party,  what 
has  to  be  reconstructed  after  the  war  is  not 
this  or  that  government  department,  or  this 
or  that  piece  of  social  machinery,  but  so  far 
as  Britain  is  concerned,  society  itself.  On 
this  point  the  statement  is  made:  "  We  recog- 
nize in  the  present  catastrophe  in  Europe 
the  culmination  and  collapse  of  a  distinctive 
industrial  civilization  which  the  workers  will 


434  NORTHCLIFFE 

not  seek  to  reconstruct."  Briefly  summa- 
rized, the  main  points  of  the  Labor  party's 
ambitious  programme  are  as  follows: 

Government  responsibility  for  obtaining  em- 
ployment at  a  minimum  wage,  and  government 
maintenance  of  "  willing  workers  "  for  whom  em- 
ployment cannot  be  found. 

The  progressive  elimination  from  the  control  of 
industry  of  the  private  capitalist;  eventual  com- 
mon ownership  of  the  means  of  production,  includ- 
ing land,  and  immediate  nationalization  of  mines, 
railroads,  steamship  lines,  and  the  production  of 
electric  power. 

Meeting  of  national  expenses  mainly  by  direct 
taxation  of  incomes  and  inheritances. 

Devotion  of  surplus  profits  above  the  "  standard 
of  life  "  to  the  common  use  of  the  people. 

Devolution  of  the  British  Empire  into  an  alli- 
ance of  autonomous  States,  with  increasing  self- 
government  for  India  and  other  dependencies  as 
rapidly  as  the  peoples  are  fitted  for  it. 

To  carry  out  the  general  details  of  this 
programme  would  practically  lead  to  the 
establishment  of  the  Socialist  State.  The 
plan,  however,  does  not  contemplate  the  in- 
troduction of  everything  at  once,  and  there 
is  no  evidence  that  anything  but  political 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS    435 

action  is  to  be  employed  to  bring  about  these 
changes. 

According  to  the  present  plans  of  the  Brit- 
ish Labor  party,  capital  is  to  remain  for  the 
present,  the  wage  system  will  also  remain, 
and  the  new  order  is  to  be  rooted  in  and 
based  on  the  old  order.  The  document 
shows,  in  a  striking  way,  that  the  British 
labor  movement,  like  our  own,  is  evolution- 
ary, and  has  little  of  the  revolutionary  spirit 
of  the  wage-earning  classes  of  the  European 
continent.  British  and  American  workers 
have  a  longer  tradition  of  liberty  behind 
them,  are  more  sophisticated,  and  have  ana- 
lyzed more  deeply  and  experimented  more 
thoroughly.  As  a  rule,  they  prefer  a  smooth 
transition  to  a  new  order  along  constitutional 
lines.  Formula-loving  continental  prole- 
tarianism  is  more  naive,  immature,  and  de- 
ductive than  the  more  grown-up  proletarian- 
ism  of  Great  Britain  and  America,  where 
capitalism  directly  rests  on  the  public  will. 

But  the  British  programme,  rich  in  pro- 
visions to  make  capitalism  declare  greater 
dividends  to  workers,  does  not  clearly  show 
how  the  industrial  product  is  to  be  increased 
sufficiently  to  meet  new  distribution  de- 


436  NORTHCLIFFE 

mands.  The  leaders  of  the  British  Labor 
party  are,  of  course,  clear  enough  thinkers 
to  recognize  that  goods  can  he  divided  only 
after  their  creation.  Yet  they  have  little 
to  say  on  this  essential  phase  of  the  indus- 
trial problem. 

In  the  United  States  few  of  the  advocates 
of  class  war  are  taken  seriously,  but  there 
are  undoubtedly  many  Americans  who  agree 
with  the  views  of  Charles  M.  Schwab,  the 
head  of  the  Bethlehem  Steel  Company,  who 
is  not  likely  to  be  suspected  of  Bolshevik 
sympathies.  In  discussing  the  modern  labor 
movement  recently,  he  said :  "  Call  it  Social- 
ism, social  revolution,  Bolshevism,  what  you 
will,  it  is  a  leveling  process,  and  means  that 
the  workman  without  property  who  labors 
with  his  hands  is  going  to  be  the  man  who 
will  dominate  the  world.  It  is  going  to  be  a 
great  hardship  to  the  owners  of  private  prop- 
erty, but  like  all  revolutions  it  will  probably 
work  for  good." 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  apart  from 
the  declarations  of  the  Labor  party  and  the 
utterances  of  prominent  radicals,  the  phrase 
"  Conscription  of  wealth "  has  been  much 
employed  by  British  statesmen  and  econo- 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS    437 

mists  in  recent  times.  Although  many  peo- 
ple suppose  the  principle  suggested  to  be 
entirely  new,  the  United  States  has  a  prop- 
erty tax,  Germany,  for  military  purposes, 
levied  heavily  on  capital  just  before  the  war, 
and  "  conscription  of  wealth "  is  already 
practiced  in  England  through  the  higher 
rate  of  income  tax  imposed  on  "  unearned 


income." 


As  a  means  of  paying  off  Britain's  gigan- 
tic war  debt,  "  conscription  of  wealth "  is 
said  to  be  favored,  to  some  extent,  by  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  Bonar  Law, 
and  by  Lloyd  George,  the  prime  minister. 
Stated  concisely,  the  argument  is  as  follows: 
The  total  wealth  of  the  nation  is  estimated  at 
a  hundred  billion  dollars ;  say  the  net  amount 
of  the  war  debt  is  twenty  billions;  a  tax  of 
twenty  per  cent  on  all  property  would  pay 
it;  appraise  everyone's  estate  just  as  if  an 
inheritance  tax  were  levied  against  it;  assess 
it  twenty  per  cent.  As  very  few  people 
have  one-fifth  of  their  property  in  cash, 
however,  it  has  been  proposed  that  the  tax 
should  be  levied  in  installments  spread  over 
a  number  of  years.  It  has  also  been  pro- 
posed that  small  property  owners  should  be 


438  NORTHCLIFFE 

exempt  from  taxation,  that  fortunes  of  ten 
thousand  dollars  should  pay  about  five  per 
cent,  while  on  larger  amounts  of  capital  the 
rates  should  be  proportionately  increased. 

These  drastic  plans  for  obtaining  increased 
revenue  have  been  much  opposed  by  Brit- 
ish financial  experts  and  others.  Hartley 
Withers,  editor  of  the  Economist,  who  is 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  stu- 
dents of  finance  in  England,  has  taken 
this  position.  In  a  recent  article  he  said: 
:'  There  is  the  very  serious  economic  objec- 
tion that  taxation  which  is  aimed  at  accumu- 
lated savings  may  have  far-reaching  effects 
in  checking  the  desire  to  save,  on  which  the 
nation's  industrial  progress  depends.  For  it 
is  only  out  of  savings  that  we  can  provide 
the  capital  which  is  essential  to  the  exten- 
sion of  industry  and  the  full  employment  of 
all  the  labor  that  will  be  set  free  when  the 
war  is  over." 

With  labor  gaining  in  power,  the  attitude 
of  the  British  trade-unions  is  likely  to  cause 
much  concern  when  peace  readjustments  be- 
gin. To  avoid  trouble  with  the  unions,  the 
British  government  induced  capital  and 
labor  to  waive  their  differences  temporarily. 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS     439 

There  were  to  be  no  strikes  or  lockouts  dur- 
ing the  war.  Penalties  were  prescribed  for 
employers  or  laborers  who  broke  the  agree- 
ment. When  peace  returns  these  restrictions 
will  be  removed.  Predictions  are  made  that 
the  unions  will  then  put  forth  strenuous 
efforts  to  regain  their  former  power. 

During  the  war  the  ranks  of  skilled  labor 
have  been  invaded  by  thousands  of  men  and 
women  unconnected  with  the  unions,  while 
large  numbers  of  soldiers  retired  from  the 
ranks  have  been  set  at  work  in  various  in- 
idus  tries.  The  unions,  it  is  asserted,  will 
probably  refuse  to  allow  these  newcomers 
to  compete  with  union  labor,  and  any  oppo- 
sition to  union  demands  will  precipitate 
strikes  which  may  have  serious  results. 

The  subject  of  non-union  workers  has, 
however,  been  taken  up  by  the  Labor  party, 
whose  declaration  in  regard  to  the  minimum 
wage  reads  as  follows: 

"  In  view  of  the  fact  that  many  millions  of  wage 
earners,  notably  women  and  the  less-skilled  work- 
men in  various  occupations,  are  unable  by  com- 
bination to  obtain  wages  adequate  for  decent  main- 
tenance in  health,  the  Labor  party  intends  to  see  to 
it  that  the  Trade  Boards  act  is  suitably  amended 


440 NORTHCLIFFE 

and  made  to  apply  to  all  industrial  employments  in 
which  any  considerable  number  of  those  employed 
obtain  less  than  30  shillings  per  week.  This 
minimum  of  not  less  than  30  shillings  per  week 
(which  will  need  revision  according  to  the  level  of 
prices)  ought  to  be  the  very  lowest  statutory  base 
line  for  the  least-skilled  adult  workers,  men  or 
women,  in  any  occupation  in  all  parts  of  the  United 
Kingdom." 

The  spirit  of  discontent  in  the  ranks  of 
union  labor,  which  also  exists  among  other 
classes  of  workers,  has  caused  much  un- 
rest. It  is  significant  that  Lord  North- 
cliffe's  great  daily,  The  Times,  recently 
treated  this  subject  frankly  in  a  series  of 
articles  entitled  "The  Ferment  of  Revolu- 
tion," which  contained  misty  presages  of  evil 
and  declared  that  there  is  a  rank  and  file 
movement  in  British  labor,  with  its  subservi- 
ence to  the  official  hierarchy  of  trade-union- 
ism, that  deserves  the  watchful  attention  of 
the  public.  Sidney  Webb,  the  well-known 
English  writer,  asserts  that  industrial  unrest 
in  England  has  become  so  acute  as  to  create 
a  possibility  of  spontaneous  industrial  dis- 
turbance. 

In    a    recent    pastoral    letter^    Cardinal 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS     441 

Bourne,  Archbishop  of  Westminster,  dwelt 
upon  the  grave  changes  in  English  social 
conditions  caused  by  the  war.  "  During  the 
war,"  he  said,  "  the  minds  of  the  people  have 
been  profoundly  altered.  Dull  acquiescence 
in  social  injustice  has  given  way  to  active 
discontent.  The  very  foundations  of  politi- 
cal and  social  life,  of  our  economic  system, 
of  morals  and  religion,  are  being  sharply 
scrutinized,  and  this  not  only  by  a  few 
writers  and  speakers,  but  by  a  very  large 
number  of  people  in  every  class  of  life,  espe- 
cially among  the  workers.  Our  institutions, 
it  is  felt,  must  justify  themselves  at  the  bar 
of  reason.  They  can  no  longer  be  taken  for 
granted.  The  army,  for  instance,  is  not  only 
fighting,  it  is  also  thinking. 

"  The  munition  workers,  hard  working, 
but  overstrained  by  long  hours  and  heavy 
work,  alternately  flattered  and  censured, 
subjected  sometimes  to  irritating  mismanage- 
ment and  anxious  about  the  future,  tend  to 
be  resentful  and  suspicious  of  the  public 
authorities  and  political  leaders.  They,  too, 
are  questioning  the  whole  system  of  society." 

Conservative  Englishmen,  unperturbed  by 
these  alarmist  views,  are  convinced  that  when 


442  NORTHCLIFFE 

the  war  ends  British  national  life  will  con- 
tinue in  much  the  same  way  as  before.  Men 
who  are  conversant  with  affairs,  however, 
take  an  entirely  different  view.  H.  G. 
Wells,  as  already  explained,  insists  that 
Britain  is  on  the  eve  of  a  complete  social 
change.  The  old  capitalistic  system,  he  de- 
clares, has  gone  forever,  and  it  would  be 
just  as  easy  to  restore  the  Carthaginian  Em- 
pire as  to  put  back  British  industrialism  into 
the  factories  and  farms  of  the  pre-war  era. 
"  There  is,"  he  says,  "a  new  economic 
Britain  to-day,  emergency  made,  flimsily 
built,  no  doubt,  a  gawky,  weedy  giant,  but  a 
giant  who  may  fill  out  to  such  dimensions  as 
the  German  national  system  has  never  at- 
tained. Behind  it  is  an  idea,  a  new  idea,  the 
idea  of  the  nation  as  one  great  economic 
system  working  together,  an  idea  which 
could  not  possibly  have  got  into  the  sluggish, 
conservative  British  intelligence  in  half  a 
century  by  any  other  means  than  the  stark 
necessities  of  this  war." 

Mr.  Wells  has  been  called  a  dreamer  and 
idealist,  but  strangely  enough,  one  of  the 
greatest  financial  authorities  in  the  United 
States  has  taken  practically  the  same  view 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS     443 

of  the  future.  In  writing  on  after-war  con- 
ditions recently  he  said:  "  In  the  State  of  the 
future,  particularly  in  Europe  after  the 
war,  the  most  efficient  government  promotion 
of  industries  in  many  lines  will  be  held  to 
exist  in  actual  government  ownership  and 
operation.  More  than  ever  before  will  States 
become  solid  industrial  and  financial  unions 
organized  for  world  competition,  driven  by 
the  necessity  of  perfecting  a  system  of  the 
greatest  efficiency,  economy,  and  thrift  in 
order  to  be  able  to  meet  the  incredible  bur- 
dens created  by  the  war." 

When  all  the  confusion  and  wrangling  of 
the  reconstruction  period  have  ended,  Eng- 
land's prophets  foresee  the  advent  of  im- 
proved conditions.  Two  evils  of  the  capi- 
talistic system,  poverty  and  unemployment, 
are  likely  to  be  mitigated.  The  war  has 
shown  that  under  a  system  of  government 
ownership  every  capable  worker  can  be 
profitably  employed.  Under  the  old  sys- 
tem men  have  been  scrapped  in  the  prime 
of  life  to  make  way  for  younger  and  cheaper 
workers,  with  the  result  that  our  large  cities 
have  been  filled  with  efficient  unemployed 
men  whose  services  have  been  lost  to  the 


444  NORTHCLIFFE 

community.  During  the  war  the  number  of 
these  victims  of  a  wasteful  and  pernicious 
system  has  been  materially  reduced.  In 
Britain  the  Labor  party  is  determined  to 
make  it  possible  for  every  willing  worker  to 
earn  a  decent  livelihood  and  to  have  no  fear 
of  a  poverty-stricken  old  age. 

In  the  matter  of  profit  sharing  Lord 
Northcliffe  has  set  a  notable  example  for 
the  world.  In  his  opinion,  even  the  large- 
wage  system  of  Henry  Ford  is  not  sat- 
isfactory. Employees,  he  believes,  should 
receive  a  percentage  of  the  profits.  '  That 
principle,"  he  says,  "  must  eventually  be  in- 
troduced in  all  businesses.  When  the  men 
get  back  from  the  trenches,  that  is  the  sort 
of  thing  they  are  going  to  demand." 

As  the  result  of  the  labor  movement  there 
has  been  a  widespread  demand  in  England 
for  improvement  in  the  education  of  the 
masses.  At  the  present  time  the  "  board 
schools  "  are  much  inferior  to  the  American 
public  schools.  They  teach  the  working-class 
child  very  little  and  make  no  effort  to  inspire 
him  to  rise  above  his  station.  Class  preju- 
dices have  been  largely  responsible  for  this, 
but  in  the  new  order  of  things  the  depress- 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS     445 

ing  influence  of  caste,  which  has  been  called 
"  the  curse  of  England,"  may  possibly  be 
modified. 

Even  the  education  of  the  higher  classes 
is  likely  to  undergo  some  important  changes. 
In  his  recent  work  Mr.  Wells  predicts  that 
in  the  future  it  will  be  modernized  and  made 
more  practical.  "  Our  boys,"  he  says,  "  will 
be  studying  science  in  their  colleges  more 
thoroughly  than  they  do  now,  and  they  will 
in  many  cases  be  learning  Russian  instead  of 
Greek  or  German.  More  of  them  will  be 
going  into  the  public  service  as  engineers, 
technical  chemists,  state  agriculturists,  and 
the  like,  instead  of  entering  private  business. 
The  public  service  will  be  less  a  service  of 
clerks  and  more  a  service  of  practical  men." 

Through  his  newspapers  Lord  Northcliffe 
has  done  much  to  arouse  the  British  people 
to  the  importance  of  increasing  their  indus- 
trial efficiency  by  an  improvement  in  techni- 
cal education.  He  has  also  taken  a  foremost 
part  in  what  is  known  as  the  "  Back  to  the 
land  "  movement.  Among  other  things  he 
has  advocated  a  system  of  intensive  farming 
by  small  land  holders.  It  is  probable  that 
some  of  these  ideas  will  be  put  into  practical 


446  NORTHCLIFFE 

effect.  Thousands  of  men  who  have  been 
drawn  into  the  army  from  shops,  factories, 
and  offices,  and  have  been  hardened  and 
stimulated  by  out-of-door  life,  will  have  no 
inclination  to  return  to  their  former  condi- 
tions. The  government  has  been  urged  to 
acquire  large  tracts  of  farming  land  for 
settlers  of  this  description,  and  to  put  up 
cottages  and  farm  buildings  for  them.  Such 
a  plan,  if  carried  out,  would,  it  is  argued, 
greatly  increase  the  food  supplies  of  the 
nation. 

In  talking  with  the  men  at  the  front, 
Lord  Northcliffe  found  that  the  question  of 
land  nationalization  formed  a  popular  topic 
of  their  discussions.  "  The  British  soldier," 
he  said,  "  has  seen  enough  in  France  to 
know  that  a  man  and  his  family  can  manage 
a  bit  of  land  for  themselves  and  live  on  it. 
A  young  sergeant  told  me  that  the  men  in 
the  trenches  discuss  a  great  many  subjects, 
and  while  there  is  the  usual  difference  of 
opinion,  there  is  one  subject  on  which  all  are 
agreed,  and  that  is  the  land  question.  They 
are  not  going  back  as  laborers  or  tenants, 
but  as  owners.  Most  of  them  have  used  their 
eyes  to  good  advantage.  I  wonder  if  the 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS     447 

people  and  politicians  in  England  understand 
that  the  bravery  and  camaraderie  of  officers 
and  men  in  the  field  have  broken  down  all 
class  feeling,  and  that  the  millions  of  men 
abroad  are  changed  communities  of  whose 
thoughts  and  aims  little  is  known." 

Among  the  subjects  likely  to  receive  at- 
tention when  peace  returns  is  the  question 
of  women's  suffrage.  That  some  system  of 
votes  for  women  will  be  introduced  in  Britain 
seems  practically  certain.  A  new  type  of 
woman  is  emerging  from  the  war,  and  the 
demand  for  political  rights  and  freedom 
from  social  restrictions  will  probably  be 
more  insistent  than  ever.  It  is  also  probable 
that  one  of  its  results  will  be  some  reform 
of  the  English  laws  of  marriage  and  divorce, 
more  particularly  in  the  latter.  A  few  years 
ago  a  parliamentary  commission  reported  in 
favor  of  modernizing  the  present  barbarous 
divorce  law  of  England. 

In  his  predictions  of  the  future,  H.  G. 
Wells  has  expressed  the  belief  that  eventu- 
ally marriage  will  be  based  upon  compati- 
bility, and  therefore  be  more  amenable  to 
divorce  than  the  old  unions  which  were 
based  upon  the  kitchen  and  nursery.  Mar- 


448  NORTHCLIFFE 

riage,  he  says,  will  not  only  be  lighter  but 
more  durable.  '  Women  will  be  much  more 
definitely  independent  of  their  sexual  status, 
much  less  hampered  in  self -development,  and 
much  more  nearly  equal  to  men  than  has 
ever  been  known  before  in  the  whole  his- 
tory of  mankind." 

During  the  war  many  English  industries 
formerly  considered  the  exclusive  province 
of  men  have  been  invaded  by  women.  There 
is  scarcely  a  point  where,  given  a  chance, 
women  have  not  made  good.  As  stated  in 
the  first  chapter,  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
women  and  girls,  when  the  war  began,  were 
turned  out  of  such  feminine  trades  as  dress- 
making, millinery,  and  confectionery,  as  well 
as  the  so-called  luxury  trades,  such  as 
jewelry.  These  women,  with  thousands  of 
office  workers  and  domestic  workers,  were 
drafted  into  the  munition  factories.  The 
number  of  women  included  in  the  engineer- 
ing trades  alone  has  reached  800,000,  many 
filling  places  formerly  held  by  men. 

The  government  also  gathered  in  workers 
from  the  women's  universities  and  higher 
schools,  the  suffrage  societies  and  women's 
organizations.  Women  of  superior  intelli- 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS     449 

gence  from  business  and  the  professions 
were  called  upon  to  help  in  organizing  the 
munition  factories  on  a  basis  of  health, 
safety,  and  efficiency. 

Working  together,  the  women  in  charge 
have  performed  a  feat  which  has  been  de- 
scribed as  an  industrial  revolution.  They 
have  set  standards  of  humanity  in  factories 
which  it  would  be  criminal  to  lower.  They 
have  established  an  efficiency  system  such 
as  England  never  dreamed  of  before,  and 
they  have  created  a  working  class  which  will 
never  consent  to  be  placed  on  a  basis  much 
lower  than  it  now  occupies. 

Although  vromen  have  proved  their  worth 
to  the  greatest  extent  in  the  munition  plants 
and  in  farming  work,  the  variety  of  other 
occupations  in  which  they  are  usefully  em- 
ployed is  enormous.  They  have  served  in 
the  fire  brigades,  in  the  subways,  on  the 
street  cars,  in  warehouses,  on  railroads,  in 
banks,  in  the  government  service,  behind  the 
army,  and  in  reconstruction  work.  In  fact, 
it  is  difficult  to  mention  an  occupation  in 
which  they  have  not  engaged. 

It  is  realized  that  women  are  likely  to 
continue  in  many  of  these  employments 


450  NORTHCLIFFE 

after  the  war,  although  it  is  not  easy  to 
foresee  what  will  result  from  their  competi- 
tion with  men,  or  what  the  attitude  of  the 
trade-unions  will  be.  Leaders  of  the  wom- 
en's movement  assert,  however,  that  owing  to 
the  losses  of  the  war  there  will  be  fewer  men 
to  fill  positions.  There  will  be  a  greater 
necessity  for  women  to  work  than  there  was 
before,  because  a  smaller  number  of  them 
will  be  able  to  marry.  Thus  for  a  genera- 
tion at  least  they  will  be  free  to  do  a  large 
amount  of  the  world's  work. 

In  discussing  this  subject  recently,  Lord 
Northcliffe  observed  that  while  throughout 
the  English-speaking  world  the  sheltering  of 
women  had  been  a  matter  of  pride  with  men, 
and  they  had  not  cared  to  see  women  at 
work  in  the  fields  or  engaging  in  other 
manual  labor,  there  had  been  a  great  deal 
of  self-deception  about  this  matter.  In  most 
of  the  indoor  and  many  of  the  outdoor  occu- 
pations there  were  still  wide  fields  of  oppor- 
tunity for  women,  although  there  was  an 
objection  to  women  entering  employments 
for  which  they  were  not  physically  adapted. 
On  the  other  hand,  no  self-respecting  male 
should  engage  in  occupations  for  which 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS     451 

women  are  peculiarly  adapted,  such  as  type- 
writing, matching  ribbons  behind  a  counter, 
or  piano  playing.  That  problem,  however, 
would  probably  settle  itself,  for  large  num- 
bers of  young  men  who  have  been  hardened 
in  the  trenches  will  have  no  desire  to  re- 
enter  gentle  and  essentially  feminine  pur- 
suits in  which  they  had  formerly  made  their 
living. 

As  his  story  has  shown,  Lord  Northcliffe 
was  the  first  public  man  in  Great  Britain 
to  grasp  the  fact  that  modern  warfare  is 
primarily  a  stupendous  business  undertak- 
ing, and  that  battles  in  these  days  are  won 
chiefly  through  organization  and  efficiency  in 
matters  of  transportation  and  supplies.  He 
took  the  lead  in  securing  the  abolition  of 
the  time-honored  administrative  system  and 
replacing  it  with  a  compact  war  cabinet  of 
practical  business  men. 

A  business  administration  supplied  Great 
Britain  with  an  excellent  system  of  war 
taxation.  By  a  simple  procedure,  a  tax  of 
eighty  per  cent  is  levied  on  the  excess  profits 
of  a  business,  which  means,  for  example, 
the  amount  by  which  1917  earnings  exceeded 
the  average  earnings  in  pre-war  years. 


452  NORTHCLIFFE 

Carefully  worked  out  and  modified  by  ex- 
perience, this  system  has  proved  thoroughly 
successful. 

The  new  system  of  government  has  proved 
so  satisfactory  that  a  demand  has  arisen  for 
the  continuance  of  a  business  administration 
when  peace  returns.  Those  opposed  to  the 
idea  assert  that  the  term  "  business  govern- 
ment," if  analyzed,  is  meaningless;  that  an 
ordinary  expert  is  an  official  without  experi- 
ence ;  that  statesmen  of  the  old  school,  trained 
in  the  science  of  government,  are  still  needed 
to  rule  the  destinies  of  the  nation. 

Conservatism  is  strong  in  England,  and 
even  Mr.  Wells  is  not  quite  sure  that  the 
nation  will  at  once  take  the  right  course 
by  adopting  state  socialism.  "  There  is,"  he 
says,  "  no  spirit  of  cooperation  between  labor 
and  the  directing  classes."  It  is  also  idle  to 
ignore  the  forces  still  entrenched  in  the  es- 
tablished church,  in  the  universities  and  great 
schools,  and  the  influence  of  class  prejudice. 
He  argues,  however,  that  if  masses  of  un- 
employed and  unfed  people  are  released 
clumsily  into  a  world  of  risen  prices  and 
rising  rents,  of  greedy  speculators  and  ham- 
pered enterprises,  there  will  be  insurrection 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS     453 

and  revolution,  bloodshed  in  the  streets  and 
chasing  of  rulers. 

In  devising  means  to  avert  these  threat- 
ened social  upheavals,  and  in  helping  to  solve 
the  stupendous  problems  which  will  be  pre- 
sented when  the  war  is  over,  it  is  certain 
that  Lord  Northcliffe  will  be  one  of  the 
chief  instruments.  It  is  still  true  that  the 
man  who  knows,  who  can  think,  and  who 
can  write  holds  a  sword  of  Damocles  over  the 
head  of  every  politician.  The  older  parties 
in  England  may  be  disintegrated,  new  ones 
may  be  formed,  and  many  ideas  once  con- 
sidered dangerously  radical  may  be  adopted. 
History  has  shown,  however,  that  the  radical 
ideas  of  one  generation  oftentimes  become 
the  conservative  ideas  of  the  succeeding  age, 
and  that  which  was  considered  radical  was 
radical  only  because  it  was  new  and  untried. 
Old  party  ideas  are  swept  away,  traditional 
notions  are  dethroned,  and  the  nation's  lead- 
ers deal  with  facts. 

In  the  great  battle  which  is  certain  to  be 
fought  between  conservatism  and  radicalism 
in  Great  Britain,  with  various  factions  inter- 
posed, it  is  safe  to  predict  that  Lord  North- 
cliffe will  be  found  on  whatever  side  repre- 


454  NORTHCLIFFE 

sents  progress,  stability,  and  common  sense. 
Although  he  believes  in  the  cause  of  democ- 
racy and  has  opposed  the  retention  of  old 
ideas  that  have  prevented  advancement,  he 
has  been  keen  visioned  enough  to  realize 
that  a  spurious  brand  of  democracy  has 
arisen  in  recent  times  which  means  simply 
the  bludgeoning  of  the  people  by  the  people 
for  the  people.  There  is  also  a  brand  of 
socialism  which  aims  to  bring  humanity  to  a 
dead  level  of  mediocrity,  and  to  crush  out 
individuality  as  effectually  as  it  has  been 
crushed  in  Germany. 

Such  were  the  views  expressed  by  Colonel 
George  Harvey,  editor  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can Review,  in  the  course  of  an  eloquent 
address  delivered  at  a  gathering  of  the  Pil- 
grims' Society  in  New  York,  when  Lord 
Northcliffe  was  the  guest  of  honor.  In 
hailing  the  distinguished  Briton  as  a  product 
of  free  institutions  and  a  free  social  system, 
Colonel  Harvey  said :  "  History  has  proved 
that  the  only  hope  of  the  human  race  is  in 
the  development  of  able  individuals.  With- 
draw ten  thousand  of  the  best  minds  of  any 
country,  and  you  would  atrophy  the  nation 
to  mediocrity.  At  the  present  time  the 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE  HOLDS     455 

whole  future  of  the  human  race  is  in  the 
balance.  Great  Britain  stands  upon  the 
brink  of  economic  heresy.  Even  America, 
the  great  republic,  dedicated  to  promote  the 
consciousness  and  liberty  of  the  individual, 
has  paused  in  her  marvelous  career  under 
the  pandering  influences  of  political  aspir- 
ants regardless  of  anything  but  their  own 
selfish  ends. 

"  For  that  reason  Lord  Northcliffe  inter- 
ests us  as  a  living  indicator  of  the  funda- 
mental truth  whose  recognition  has  made 
great  every  Anglo-Saxon  people.  It  is  the 
triumph  of  individualism,  and  the  exemplifi- 
cation of  the  wisdom  of  conferring  upon  the 
maximum  of  capacity  the  maximum  of  re- 
ward. Lord  Northcliffe  is  a  Briton  in 
every  fiber  of  his  being,  but  he  has  grown 
as  an  American  grows.  He  inherited  brains, 
and  discovered  how  to  use  them  in  order  to 
gain  wealth,  power,  distinction,  and  honor 
at  home  and  abroad.  He  has  won  by  his 
own  endeavors.  Such  a  career  as  his  could 
never  have  been  possible  in  a  state  held  in 
communal  bondage." 

This  magnificent  tribute  to  the  great  jour- 
nalist, patriot,  and  public  man  forms  an 


456  NORTHCLIFFE 

appropriate  ending  to  the  story  of  his  rise 
from  obscurity  to  eminence,  his  brilliant 
achievements,  and  his  services  for  his  coun- 
try. The  embodiment  of  manifold  attain- 
ments, forcefulness,  and  real  worth,  Vis- 
count Northcliffe  assuredly  represents  the 
individualistic  triumph  of  a  man  of  genius. 
Providence  apparently  has  ordained  that 
whoever  serves  most  shall  reap  most,  a  fact 
that  has  stood  forth  conspicuously  in  his 
career.  Success  in  his  case  has  come  to  mean 
service,  a  revelation  of  organized  efficiency 
adapted  to  the  national  cause  which,  amidst 
the  perplexities  of  war  time,  conveys  to 
Americans  an  impressively  significant  lesson. 


LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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